Alan Kelly (Labour)

I thank Senator Quinn for sharing his time with me and I welcome the Minister.

The Government amendment to the motion is a joke. I will not repeat the points made by my colleagues. The amendment was not thought out, but just thrown out there. I speak on this with some knowledge as before my election to the Seanad I looked after e-business for Fáilte Ireland. I am aware of the broadband issue, especially as it affects the tourism industry where people are trying to develop enterprises because the online sphere is so important to tourism. As we all know, broadband penetration in Ireland is a joke and a disgrace. Hopefully with the Minister at the wheel we will change this. However, if we are to achieve this we must scrap the plan and the investment projections in place. We must prioritise broadband, give it more emphasis, change what we are doing and invest more resources in it. Although we will invest approximately €435 million in a broadband programme up until 2013, what we are putting in place will be well out of date by then. Mr. Kevin Thompson, chief executive of Shannon Development, says we must put in place next generation networks and I agree wholeheartedly with him. We must invest in that and prioritise it. According to Mr. Thompson:

Ireland should not be playing catch-up with other countries when it comes to advances in telecommunications. We need to be leading future development and investing in infrastructure ahead of demand. Next generation networks are the future. They will help Ireland be at the leading edge of the telecommunications industry and will mean faster, more efficient and cheaper access to a growing range of broadband applications.

This is the forward thinking we need. If the Minister proposed a plan which made sense and showed the level of investment and type of networks required, he would get all-party support. This is one of the most important infrastructure priorities facing the country. It is as important as roads.