Keira Keogh (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Cross-government action is needed. We see the fantastic roll-out of the national broadband plan, which is having great results in Mayo. As the Minister of State said, broadband alarms are being recommended, but we have to go back retrospectively. More than 1,000 people in Mayo are using these alarms. I think of the people in Binghamstown, Belmullet, out in Leenane and in some of the rural black spots. Where we have been successful in putting in rural broadband we should get community groups to go out retrospectively, right now, ahead of winter 2025 to see the people whose panic alarms are attached to copper telephone lines, and see if we can get them switched over to the national broadband plan where it has already caught up. I acknowledge that there are ongoing reviews following Storm Éowyn and into panic alarms. However, if we are in this situation in December and the telephone lines go down again, I do not think we will be accountable to our constituents if we leave them.

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