Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to put that on record. I have no issue with the legitimate concerns expressed on why Eir withdrew from the recent procurement process which is ongoing. I understand that it was a commercial decision by the company. One must ask why a company such as Eir, which one would think had the capacity and ability to deliver, would do so. I point to the denuding of the asset base of that company over many years. If one considers the recent storm, when much of the Eir network took a battering the company is struggling to address, one can see in any part of the country that it does not have the capacity to fix the existing networks. It does not have the resources to reinvest in the existing networks. I keep pointing to the other semi-State that has been so successful, namely, ESB Networks, which in comparison, has invested enormously in every town, village and rural area in this country because it had a long-term vision of investment for the network. Unfortunately, we did not have the same in our telecommunications networks because the ground was sold out from under them. That is the fundamental reason why we do not have strong broadband connections in Ireland now.

As a Government representative, it is not good enough for me to point the finger of blame; we must point to solutions. That is why I have confidence in the Minister, Deputy Naughten, the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, and in the Government, because they have a plan. They have the national broadband plan that will invest substantial millions of euro in reaching areas where the commercial operators cannot reach. That is to be welcomed. The Minister, Deputy Naughten, already pointed out that when he came into office a couple of years ago, five out of ten premises were connected to quality broadband. That figure will be nine out of ten premises in the next 18 months, which is to be welcomed, but it will only do so by continued investment and co-ordination of all assets and all resources, commercial, private and State, to ensure that the direct fibre connections, in so far as possible, can reach every home. Where direct fibre cannot be reached, we need to use other technologies, such as high-quality wireless technologies. Imagine is already rolling that out in many areas and has made substantial investment in that regard in County Waterford. SIRO, the ESB-Vodafone partnership, is also investing more than €450 million in reaching 500,000 regional homes and businesses.Eir is investing €200 million and has guaranteed that it will connect over 300,000 premises under that investment plan. The majority of these projects are in the regions and rural Ireland. Virgin Media, Imagine and many other providers are doing the same. It is important that the commitment by the previous Government in 2015 of over €275 million is invested in the national broadband plan. This Friday, I expect to hear that this sum is going to be substantially increased under the new national capital plan. We need that type of investment. We need that type of commitment from the very top down and we must provide certainty to the relevant agencies and to people of rural Ireland - citizens of this country - that the State is behind them.

We all understand that we have a substandard broadband network. We all know the reasons for that, but now it is time for all of us to put our shoulders to the wheel to ensure that we deliver a fit-for-purpose, modern broadband network that will serve the needs of our citizens, agricultural businesses and rural areas and the regions into the future. I have confidence that this Government and this Minister can achieve that.