Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister and welcome his update. I have a concern in relation to the blue area. Part of Skerries is in the blue area as well. The Minister mentioned Balbriggan. The problem with the blue area is that the residents of an estate are being told that unless they come together as a collective of 20 to 50 residents who are willing to sign up with one commercial provider, they will not be able to access the fibre broadband, or it will not be delivered. That is not good enough. It also undermines competition. All the residents have to come together and sign up to one fibre broadband provider. Skerries is 35 minutes from the city centre, and broadband is an absolutely essential infrastructure for businesses, for remote working and for our day-to-day lives. Our lives happen online. I would really appreciate if something can be looked at in terms of the blue area.

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