Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Being a Galway man he will be familiar with the challenges of providing open access broadband to urban and rural areas. I should mention the good work taking place at grassroots level and refer to the European regional network of application communications technology, the Eirnet group in Donegal, which has been proactive in looking at possible solutions and alternatives for providing open access broadband to urban and rural areas. This group which was set up in 1990 is a great ambassador for setting the agenda for broadband in the north west.

The Minister of State will be familiar with the group and its unique cross-Border base because it involves Derry City Council and Donegal County Council. Since 1990 this unique group has been a strong advocate of promoting the broadband agenda. It has a reputation in Europe given that it is a member of a plethora of European regional groups with a high degree of credibility and recognition for the work it has done. It has led the campaign for satellite broadband, wireless broadband and ADSL broadband and the traditional fibre optic ESB avenues for broadband. This group has worked hard at local level.

Curiously when one is in Donegal and hears some of the Government parties speak about broadband, it is as if the solutions have been found for all of Donegal. However, that is not the case and we still do not have open access broadband. I accept we have a good MANs network in Letterkenny and there has been a further announcement of the MANs network into areas such as Carndonagh in the Inishowen Peninsula. We also have the MANs network in Gweedore. Nevertheless, there are still many gaps in the Inishowen Peninsula and in Donegal, and we have to keep a firm focus on what is needed.

Community groups have been proactive in looking at radio broadband. I accept that the group broadband scheme rolled out by the Government has been a welcome addition to the broadband infrastructure in rural areas. One, in particular, is a unique group in north-west Donegal called the Hills of Donegal where there has been an extensive roll-out of radio broadband by North West Electronics. That is an example of finding a solution when there is nothing else.

There are arguments as to whether radio broadband is a reliable 100% solution for attracting businesses into an area but I can only give feedback on the positives where small to medium enterprises thrive in their environments with this particular solution. Many of those who provide feedback to me say it is more reliable than the satellite solution. However, there are still gaps and problems with the Eircom exchanges and there are problems for those who are outside the MANs network and for households outside the so-called 4.5 km. radius from the Eircom exchanges.

Why is it that across the Border in Derry where there is 100% broadband access there is a radius of 5 km from the exchanges? Why are we not unbundling the network in terms of increasing that radius to 5 km? Eircom has said it is extending the network 4.5 km. but the man in the street knows it is only to a radius of, perhaps, 4 km. It would make a big difference if the radius was increased from 4 km. to 5 km. in terms of making broadband accessible to many households on the perimeter.

The Minister of State is probably fed up hearing the promises of 2002 at this stage. One of the commitments in the Government's election manifesto was that everyone in Ireland would have access to broadband communications to ensure open access broadband on a national basis. The current position is dismal with Ireland having approximately one fifth of the number of broadband connections per head as Denmark or the Netherlands and just 72% of the population have access to technology. All of this will change in the next 12 months. That was in 2002.

Too many promises and commitments were made with solutions that were not realisable or did not have the commitment from the particular Department to work in partnership with the local groups that have been very successful. The local group, Eirnet, in west Donegal has been an ambassador and the kingpin in leading the agenda for broadband access.

Naturally we tend to be parochial when we talk politics but in regard to solutions for County Donegal we are at a comparative disadvantage over Derry city. We are not able to compete in terms of attracting inward investment if we cannot have 100% reliable broadband access. Last week there was an announcement of more than 450 jobs for Derry. A place such as Derry and Derry city will always have a comparative advantage over Donegal in respect of inward investment and job creation. Some 40% of our job infrastructure is reliant on the construction and service industry, with 40% of people employed in those categories. This is unreliable in both the short and the long term and we must look at solutions such as small to medium-sized enterprise and indigenous industry. We have creative personnel in Donegal who would like to set up their own businesses, but they are restricted in terms of broadband access. Many of our Donegal diaspora who have had success in the United Kingdom, Europe and throughout the world want to come back and set up businesses, but they are not in a position to do so because the proper infrastructure is not available.

Many solutions for providing broadband are available, such as satellite and radio broadband. However, we should look at the experts in the field and listen more attentively to the people leading in the area. The challenge facing us in the short term is to unbundle more exchanges and work in partnership with local authorities to roll out proper broadband access.

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Michael Ahern, to the House. We have failed as a country to stay competitive in European terms. We may talk about the Celtic tiger, the good times and the ifs and buts, but we have failed to provide a proper, adequate broadband infrastructure, thereby leaving ourselves at a comparative disadvantage with EU countries and accession states. Even Bulgaria and Romania can boast a better broadband infrastructure and countries such as Slovenia and Slovakia are ahead of us. It is unfortunate that Donegal people living close to the Border with Derry must envy people from Malin Head to Derry city who have 100% broadband access. This is not good enough, is unacceptable and something must be done about it immediately.