Dan Boyle (Green Party)

I welcome the publication of and debate on this Bill from Senator Shane Ross and his colleagues on the Independent benches. It identifies the key infrastructure we need to get right, especially if we are to meet the much talked about aspiration of becoming a knowledge-based economy, which I admit is a long way towards being met.

Most of the criticisms made by Senator Shane Ross are quite valid. We must accept there were many missed opportunities over the past decade to ensure a better broadband network was put in place. There were missed opportunities with policy decisions on national infrastructure projects, such as roads and public transport, with which the roll-out of a broadband network could have been linked and the decision to privatise the State telecommunications company which has been involved in most of the network. Those mistakes have been made and the question must be where we go from here.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is sufficiently energised in pointing his Department in the right direction in fulfilling this policy goal. He has enough commitment and knowledge of the subject to ensure the goals are met. It is not facetious to say that he knows in computing terms the plural of "mouse" is "mouses". He is the one Cabinet member with a knowledge of how particular technology choices in this area work.

That said, more information is needed in this debate. The use of statistics is not always helpful. Legislation of some sort is needed and I would like the Minister to give a commitment in the near future towards how we will legislate specifically for this area. We also need some standard as to how fast broadband should be and what size files can be downloaded. Some statistics that have been presented claim broadband speeds are quite slow but that depends on the technology platform being used. Statistics should also be made available on how broadband is used in different sectors. The general statistics presented so far in this debate simply show the percentage of people who use broadband. They do not inform us how many households have access, what the breakdown is in industry or how many schools have access.

One function for an overseeing agency would be to ensure broadband penetration is reached critically in each of those sectors. The Minister has indicated his personal priority as regards broadband in schools. I am confident there will be significant advances in this area. It must be recognised better broadband access for households has other implications such as encouraging home working and preventing unnecessary commuter transport.

The difference between technology platforms is an area I believe could be more tightly regulated. Will the majority of broadband service be delivered through cable or some other platform such as satellite? The Minister indicated that because the greater increase in broadband services is through mobile platforms, this seems to be policy direction. I am not sure that should be the case. There are still opportunities to have a cable-based system that will carry as much of the broadband network as possible while having the mobile broadband as an add-on.

The Minister is open to debate on the issue while at the same time progressing policy goals in this area. I would like to see Senator Shane Ross, who has taken an interest in this area, engage in further goading of the Minister, the Department and the Government on broadband services. I know the Minister has stated he will not accept this Bill but there is still a need for the Minister to explain what he intends to do in regulation and legislation, if necessary, in this area.

I am favourably disposed to the Bill's general intent. Much detail has gone into it. I would quibble with some of its proposed administrative infrastructure such as the establishment of new quangos. There needs to be a more coherent and cohesive broadband policy overseen by an identifiable State arm which does not clash with EU competition rules. This is something which many Members and the public would welcome. While it is likely the Bill will not be supported by the House majority, the debate is helping to progress this policy goal. I am confident the Minister and his officials will take necessary cognisance of it and make the necessary policy refinements to give more confidence to Senator Shane Ross and others who are pushing for better action in this area. I also hope we will correct the mistakes of the lost opportunities of the past ten years.