Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did not get an opportunity yesterday to welcome Senator David Norris back but it is worth doing. While I will not indulge in slobbering, it is worth repeating that he has contributed much to this House, particularly in the area of gender recognition. The Seanad has been noted for the work it has done on gender issues and human rights issues. Only yesterday, Senator Katherine Zappone launched the Legal Recognition of Gender Bill. With regard to gender, human rights and women's issues in particular, and the history of these issues, one need look no further than this House. The innovative ideas which came from this House were taken up by the second House and then eventually passed. This is a point to bear in mind.

On 1 July, the Government announced a national broadband mapping system for the entire country to identify where the black spots and gaps are, and Senator Ned O'Sullivan yesterday raised the issue of gaps in mobile broadband. We have been talking about jobs, particularly for our youth, and nothing is as important in this country as jobs and home-grown SMEs. Very many of these SMEs are in areas of the country which are not served at present by the national broadband scheme. The Government launched the mapping system yesterday, and one could ask why this was not done earlier or why the onus was not on the commercial companies that supply broadband to ensure they mapped where the systems were and how many megabits per second were provided in each area. The Government has asked all of the broadband companies to co-operate, although this is on a voluntary basis and they do not have to do it. I would like a debate in the House on the national broadband scheme. The Government wants to identify where Government intervention will be needed, given that the commercial companies will not supply all services because it would not be commercially viable to do so. The Government has said it will intervene, but it needs help in regard to the mapping system. The Government also said it would work community by community. The community here in Leinster House, including the Seanad, has a role to play in ensuring the black spots are identified as quickly as possible and that broadband services of 30 Mbps are provided, as promised, for every community in the country. That is the way we will get jobs up and running. It is the way we should be going and it should have been done long ago.