Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

The Minister, Deputy Ryan, is in touch. He is aspirational and wants to connect people but his comment that schools should be connected and his comments on the global village are questionable. How many schools have interactive whiteboards?

The plan to invest €223 million was launched in the middle of January and it is to result in full coverage by September 2010. I fear this is a promise much like the previous ones. Fine Gael spoke about delays and put forward very good suggestions. My colleague, Deputy Coveney, did so time and again but they were not accepted. We called for all new buildings to be required to install open access fibre broadband connections. The Minister spoke about this today and I welcome the fact that he has taken this suggestion on board. Fine Gael suggested the Department should undertake an audit of all publicly and privately owned telecommunications infrastructure so gaps can be prioritised.

Broadband is as important to business in a rural area as road transport or energy access. I am trying to be emphatic because I meet many people who are despairing of the service in rural areas. According to the 2006 census, householders in Longford-Westmeath are less likely to own a PC and have Internet access than other householders in the State. Only 13% of households in Longford-Westmeath have broadband access compared to 20% in Dublin. That is neither fair nor acceptable. The playing field for attracting investment is not level. It does a disservice to those who study in Athlone Institute of Technology or for the Open University. Immediately, they are at a disadvantage. Businesses are less likely to locate within the midlands. We are part of the midland gateway and our prime focus is to bring new jobs into the Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore gateway. It is an absolutely essential ingredient to add to the infrastructure of our area. With the certainty that the next few years will be tough for Ireland it is more important than ever that there is investment in this area.

Senator Mullen referred to Irish Rural Link, which is based in Moate, County Westmeath. I compliment it for its consistent lobbying for sustainable rural development. It stated it has real concerns that the Government broadband scheme will not deliver 100% coverage and has serious technical limitations. I agree with the group that it is totally unacceptable that the scheme is based almost entirely on mobile broadband technology. Irish Rural Link claims this is unreliable and has serious capacity problems. Irish Rural Link also stated that mobile technology may be a cost effective solution but it is not really broadband. Therefore, I do not believe it is the solution to Ireland's broadband problems.

As Senator Mullen stated, Irish Rural Link, in February, published a report entitled The Good, The Bad & The Inadequate, the essence of which is that the quality of connection for rural areas is completely unacceptable. The group's document shows that 12,000 homes and businesses are in areas which are not covered by the new Government scheme. There needs to be a contingency plan to allow for delays relating to planning permission for the 160 telecommunication masts needed to deliver the scheme. Will the Minister of State comment on this?

In our proposal we ask that the Minister updates the committee every six months on how broadband is progressing. This part of the motion at least could be accepted.