Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to be associated with the words expressed by Senator Wilson and congratulate Senator Joe O'Reilly on his appointment. From Cavan to the heart of Europe, I know he will excel in his role and wish him well.

I call on the Leader to arrange an early debate on broadband. This is not a new issue but it is one which gives rise to frustration. Since I came into this House in 2007, we have discussed the roll-out and availability of broadband. So far, that has not happened. The urban centres and populated areas have been provided with broadband but rural Ireland has not. A lack of broadband in rural Ireland has detrimental effects. I know that young college students from my county, Donegal, do not travel home at weekends because they cannot study due to a lack of broadband in rural parts of the county.

This morning, the Minister said that over 80 of the leading experts on broadband provision in Europe are working within his Department on the contract. Eir was one of the bidders but it pulled out because the contract is too complicated and we have been left with just one bidder. We have a monopoly situation and the final bidder can seek whatever price it wishes to be paid to provide the service. Such a situation is unacceptable, ineffective and inefficient. The State is working on the contract but I am not sure that it is best placed to do so. The taxpayer may be left to carry the can. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the matter as soon as possible. Obviously, the wheels have come off the wagon inside the Department. The officials either have gone with a process that is too complicated and cumbersome or Eir pulled out for commercial reasons. However, we can only speculate because we do not have the information. The Minister has an obligation to come to the House and answer our questions. This could turn into a national scandal of unprecedented proportions unless we deal with it effectively. We are not looking for a state-of-the-art, world-class broadband in very remote rural homes. We are looking for a service. We do not have to be the world leader in providing broadband. There is no broadband service in certain parts of the country yet there has been talk about a service that is equivalent to that provided in the centre of New York. People must get real. Sometimes we over complicate things and I think that is what has happened in respect of the contract.