Ciarán Cannon (Progressive Democrats)

I also congratulate Senator Ross and the other Independent Members on tabling this motion. I agree with Senator Boyle that somehow the tone of the motion tends to dwell on the failures of the past rather than looking to the successes of the future. For that reason I shall support the amendment to the motion.

I have been very disappointed at the lack of a proper rolling out of broadband to all of Ireland in recent years. We are very fortunate to have as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Deputy Eamon Ryan, a man who can effect the sweeping changes we need to roll out broadband in a systematic way across the country. The Minister has been always a vocal advocate of the rolling out of broadband and we are fortunate he holds this position. He will be a successful Minister in providing, not just EU class, but worldclass broadband infrastructure across Ireland. The argument that we are somehow failing globally was crystallised for me by an article in The Sunday Tribune of 2 December regarding Mr. John McElligot, the chief executive of eBay, which is one of the three top Internet companies in the world, along with Amazon and Google, perhaps. When a senior member of its management highlights the failure of Ireland to keep up globally and says he is embarrassed to speak to his peers about what has been and remains to be achieved here, that crystallises the argument completely for me. A particularly worrying aspect of what he said was that companies with which he is familiar in the US continue to look across the Atlantic to establish bases in the EU, and until recently would have considered Ireland as one of their options. They are now saying, however, that given its poor broadband infrastructure, Ireland is becoming less and less of an option, and they are looking elsewhere within the EU and globally.

Senator Ross highlighted the issue of people working from home. Rolling out broadband to all rural areas provides the opportunity to take people off the M50 and the M6, and they can work from home in a productive manner. A very high class research facility located in Galway city was opened by the then Minister about a year and a half ago. The chief executive of that company said at the launch that while he was delighted his company's research and development facility had been located in Galway, he had serious concerns about the lack of proper broadband infrastructure nationally. One of the deciding factors as to where the company would locate globally was whether workers could have the choice of working from home or from the company base. While the concerns he had over broadband infrastructure ultimately did not lose Galway the commitment from this company, it went very close to doing so.

Senator O'Toole raised the issue of education and broadband. We have been successful in rolling out broadband to all the national schools around the country, but I would question the quality, and how effective it has been. We are fortunate in our local national school in that the principal is very innovative in the use of technology and has installed a data projector and white screen in every classroom. It means he can use the Internet and its facilities for the education of the children. However, he constantly complains to me about the quality of the broadband available to him. It is a satellite link-up, consistently breaks down and the download speeds are appalling. Imagine the potential that exists to excite children and educate them in a whole new way, and we are not availing of it. For example, if a teacher is discussing the Colosseum in Rome with, say, fourth class, he or she can bring up Google Earth and zoom in on a satellite photograph of the Colosseum in situ, in the context in which it is being discussed. If the Niagara Falls is being discussed the teacher can bring up a live webcam and show the pupils a live picture of the falls, just as they are, that minute. That potential is really unfathomable and needs to be examined. The connections exist, but the quality is appalling.

The Minister's response is to consistently compare our broadband coverage and speeds with those of other EU countries. Again, Mr. McElligot of eBay says this is not the direction in which we should be heading. We should not be comparing Ireland with other EU countries, but with what is being achieved globally. Senator Kelly said earlier that by the time broadband coverage is achieved nationally, the standard may well be below what is being experienced in other countries, with which we are competing for foreign direct investment.

Senator O'Reilly spoke about the effects of broadband access on rural Ireland. He quite rightly pointed out that the electrification of rural Ireland and the roll out of broadband are similar as regards the potential for enormous change that exists in rural society if broadband were available everywhere. If it can be achieved across the Border in Northern Ireland within a very short space of time, I fail to understand why it cannot happen here.

I conclude by wishing the Minister the very best in his new role. I am extremely confident that we are about to see sweeping changes in the provision of broadband in the country. I am very much heartened by the national broadband scheme and the fact we now are down to four candidates pre-qualified for that process, who are about to engage in competitive dialogue. I am hoping we will see sweeping changes in the near future.