Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I had not realised it was possible to broadcast what happens in this House. Perhaps he is watching now. I am wearing a dull tie today.

We have this ability. However, I am critical about what has happened to our position in the information society, the context in which we hope to compete in the future, the knowledge-based economy to which we referred in the Lisbon Agenda. We are failing to reach out to grasp the opportunities it provides. Nothing captures our attitude and failure in this regard more than our miserable standing on the key issue of bringing affordable broadband services to the mass of the people. Senator Bradford also referred to this issue. The Nordic countries excel at this and have embraced the information society superbly. They are countries the size of Ireland.

To sum up what I have to say, we should follow the winners and do what they do. Some of those winners are the same size as Ireland. The lessons they offer us are clear. We have only to listen to what they say and follow in their footsteps. I was a rugby player at school in Newbridge and our trainer was Fr. Hegarty. On one occasion he discussed the attacking and defending teams. I interrupted to ask him whether the attacking team referred to where one was standing on the pitch. He thought for one moment and answered that it did not. It depended on who was in possession of the ball. If one is in possession of the ball, even on one's own back line, one is on the attacking team. Europe and subsidiarity, if we defend it, can give us possession of the ball. What we do with it is in our own hands. We can achieve. If we have the ability, we must focus on achieving what we set out to do.