Dan Boyle (Green Party)

It is important this debate is held on a regular basis. The questions raised in moving the motion and the contributions so far will help in developing our broadband infrastructure. I was struck on hearing the opening contributions that the statistics related to October 2007. While there are many issues one can accuse the Minister of, to have him solely responsible for the state of Ireland's broadband infrastructure three months into office is not the fairest of political charges.

The time between then and now has seen significant advances. We are obviously hampered by policy mistakes and lack of investment and lack of proper prioritisation in the past. I am satisfied that reprioritisation has occurred, which is an important part of the infrastructure that is being developed and will be developed. It has certainly featured largely in many of the strategy documents the Government has produced in the past six months alone, for example the smart economy document. The deployment of computer-based IT with broadband facilities in key areas such as through the schools programme is another important element that shows the issue is being taken seriously. It will continue to be a priority and will reap economic and social benefits for the country as a whole.

The framers of the motion are also correct to point out that the impact of proper broadband infrastructure in rural areas will have a special benefit. The Government is aware of that and the strategies exist to try to bring it about. Senator Doherty mentioned some of the wider arguments we need to consider regarding availability, speed of access and cost. The argument seems to be over the technological platform that is used to help us get to where we need to be. Ideally if the work had been done before now, a cable-based system done through a national telecoms provider should have us at the level of many other countries that have higher specifications and usage of broadband. However, we are not at that stage and the Minister's policy of meeting the gaps in infrastructure by using satellite technology in particular is the right way to go. The way to develop that ultimately is to work towards a fully cable-based system. However, we will not get there tomorrow and we will certainly not get there in the context of the investment that is available to us to put in place such an infrastructure. The Minister is also right to use satellite technology given that technology is quickly changing. It could be that we will have greater recourse to this in the future.

Regarding delivery, it is only 30 years ago that it took two and a half years to install a telephone in this country. We are now talking about many of the systems that people and businesses need to interact in the modern world with the advancement in that technology over that 30-year period. The Minister is sufficiently minded to ensure we have this as a proper policy priority.

In order to best marry the intentions of the Government and a successful implementation of policy, we need to bring more actors into it, including the role of the individual consumer and households and the roles played by other State agencies, such as local government. Despite how Opposition Members might seek to portray it, the strategy that brings about the highest possible broadband usage and the maximum development of an infrastructure is not down to one Department or one person within that Department. It requires a level of national buy-in that, while we like to think we are more technologically advanced than others are, may not exist. I remember debates and articles in many recent election campaigns about how IT was supposed to play a particular role in whether people got elected and whether usage was being made of it. Undoubtedly, the use of IT has increased in this scenario but as a proportion of communications and contact between politicians, candidates and the voters, it is still a low percentage. There is still a journey to travel and I am confident that the right measures are being put in place.

I anticipate future such debates which should concentrate on specifics. What are the technological blockages to prevent certain geographical parts of the country getting broadband? The history of electricity in this country started in the 1920s with Ardnacrusha and the rural electrification scheme, yet it was the 1970s before the Black Valley in County Kerry received electricity. There will be that mismatch between particular geographical circumstances and the ability to deliver technology. However, I am of the belief that they can and will be overcome. The policy is going in the right direction and takes account of the technological platforms that can be mixed and matched to achieve this. The optimistic deadlines can still be met. If there is a different approach that is better, I have yet to hear it.