David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. We are having a debate on an interesting set of statements which is welcome. Some interesting proposals have been made already such as to abolish the regulator and build nuclear power stations. Therefore, the Minister has a lot to ponder even before I make my contribution.

I share many of the concerns about broadband services expressed by Senator Sheahan. It comes as no surprise to me that the private or commercial sector would concentrate their business activities in areas of critical mass and there is a population base. That is exactly why I opposed privatisation of, for example, post offices which has happened in the UK, Bus Éireann which has had some its bus routes privatised in different parts of the country and Aer Lingus which is a different debate.

I opposed those issues because certain services should be run by the State. If one allows them to be run solely by private operators then rural areas especially, and less densely populated areas, including the west coast, will suffer. It is the neo-liberal right-wing economics of the Senator's party, and the Fianna Fáil Party, which has landed the west coast and other rural areas in the bad situation in which they have found themselves.

Compared with other European countries, this State has lagged behind in terms of broadband speeds. Lack of access to quality telecommunications infrastructure is one of the deficits that inhibits the growth of businesses in areas located outside of Dublin. It also discourages other businesses from locating in a region.

Such lack of access was one of the issues highlighted in a report by the South-East Economic Development Strategy. Broadband provision or lack of, next generation broadband and dark fibre broadband were the requirements sought by the business community. When we engaged with a lot of multinationals, and asked them what they needed in terms of infrastructure, I was surprised at how many of them talked about next generation broadband and so on. That shows we need to continually look at where the next generation of technology and improvements are coming from and ensure we keep pace with changing technology.

I welcome the launch of the mapping programme for broadband coverage. I hope the initiative will clear up many of the areas that lack adequate broadband coverage. Blackspot areas need to be prioritised in order to allow us to develop a sustainable economy and, especially in rural areas, access to high speed broadband is needed.

I also welcome State intervention in the roll-out of broadband to areas where commercial operators will not reach. I hope this continues.

The privatisation of Telecom Éireann in the late 1990s was a major blow to the roll-out of broadband. The Government must not make the same mistake. It must ensure that broadband infrastructure is built by the State and is kept in public ownership for all the reasons that have been outlined by Senators. I welcome the fact that the Minister will take submissions on the broadband map and I encourage interested parties to look at the map.

The next item is post offices. We have discussed this matter in the Seanad last year. Motions were tabled by the Opposition due to concerns and fears about the future of post offices in many rural areas. Between 2004 and 2008 as many as 344 post offices were closed and many more were downgraded. Closures have continued with a further 32 since the beginning of 2011 but some of them have subsequently reopened.

This State has the third highest ratio of post offices to population in Europe with 3.5 post offices for every 10,000 people. That is an indication of the centrality and importance of post offices in many communities. In my county of Waterford some post offices have closed. The closure of post offices in Kill and Bunmahon, located in the middle of the county, had an impact on the region. It is not just a post office that closes because, in many cases, it also means the closure of a local shop. The post office, as we know, provides an essential service. In rural communities the post office is a focal point for social interaction and closures are regarded as increasing the levels of isolation.

The Irish Postmasters Union and the Communication Workers Union have both stressed that An Post ought to be protected against attempts to downgrade or privatise. They pointed to the opportunities that exist for the postal service and post offices to expand their range of activities.

Finally, I wish to address the White Paper on Energy. Sinn Féin's submission to the Green Paper on Energy aimed to put the people of Ireland at the heart of the submission. The aim of Sinn Féin's submission was to highlight a refocusing of policy to cater for the needs of the Irish people. The first step the Government can take, in this refocusing, is to rectify the current situation regarding the erection of wind turbines. Sinn Féin's Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2014 should be brought to Committee Stage. Some other Senators have raised this important issue as well.

I thank the Minister for listening to my comments and look forward to his response.