Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of broadband provision in rural areas and the great urban-rural divide that exists in this respect. A report issued today by Switcher.ie, a price comparison website, shows broadband speeds in rural Ireland are 36 times slower than in towns and cities. This is a serious issue. Longford and Monaghan, to name but a few, were listed as black spots.

To give a practical example of this divide, downloading a two-hour film in Dublin would take approximately six minutes, whereas it could take two and a half hours in Monaghan.That gives an example of the challenges that businesses and individuals face every day. The sad thing is that the gap is getting bigger. A quarter of households have broadband speeds of less than the Government's guidelines.

We have been told that the broadband issue will be fully solved by 2020 or 2022, which is little consolation for businesspeople and families in rural areas. The biggest obstacle to job creation in rural areas is lack of access to broadband. I plead with the Leader to ask the Minister to come to the House to address this serious issue so that rather than having to pack their suitcases to leave, people will find a future for themselves and their families in rural Ireland where they can grow up and live and work for as long as they wish.