Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

There are. If I had time I would have contacted all the people in those homes and told them we were thinking of them in this House this evening. Those homes and many small businesses do not have broadband access. Currently, people can study in their home for a university degree, but people living in the homes in the townlands mentioned cannot do so. They could perhaps do so but the cost would be prohibitive. Many of them are utilising what Eircom refers to as "shared lines", a service not used in many areas. I impress upon the Minister of State and the Department to take up this issue with the service providers. Shared lines should be a thing of the past. The service providers say the reason they cannot change them is economic but this must be tackled as part of the broadband debate.

The recent announcement by the Minister that there would a pilot scheme rolled out to 78 schools is welcome and I hope it will act as a catalyst for broadband roll out to all schools. That will mean that a rural school involved in the scheme will be able to communicate over broadband with a school in Russia or France and interact for language reasons or to learn about the European Union.

Broadband provides a road in the sky. It provides Ireland as a small, open economy with a way to attract foreign direct investment. That has been proven in areas where foreign companies are locating themselves. They go to areas where broadband is universally available and that is why broadband roll out in rural areas is so important. I have a vision of people in rural Ireland being able to work for multinational companies from the comfort of their own homes if broadband was available. We must all look to the new Ireland we all aspire to and by providing broadband to rural areas we will cherish all of the children equally, as in the Constitution.

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this important motion for the economic well being of the country, urban and rural.