Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will raise one substantive issue before referring to the issue raised by Senator Bacik. There is an issue in rural Ireland at the moment.I want the Leader to respond to this and put it to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. There is an issue with mobile coverage in rural Ireland. It is very sporadic and there are blackspots. One can drive to areas where there is no mobile coverage. I know of three or four areas with no mobile coverage within a very short radius of my home in County Cavan. The situation is replicated throughout County Monaghan and various parts of rural Ireland. The solution must be further investment by the private sector. The Government and, specifically, ComReg have a duty in this respect to make it clear to these providers that they should provide comprehensive coverage and, insofar as there is a deficit, invest in sorting that out. If Government intervention is necessary to decentralise jobs and develop the regions and rural Ireland, so be it. At a minimum, we need mobile coverage to maintain a quality of life. The significant agenda is broadband but this is a real agenda as well, so I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House to discuss this issue and to talk to him in the meantime.

In respect of the issue raised by Senator Bacik, I agree fully that we must hold firm on the Northern Ireland backstop. I am sure she was as reassured as I was this morning to hear the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade commit himself very clearly to that task and the comments of the Taoiseach yesterday. The Senator is correct. From a Border perspective and as somebody from Cavan-Monaghan, I can say that it is a real issue for us and that we must hold firm because we must maintain a normal economy, normal Border crossing and normal life there. The peace process also hinges on it. My good colleague, Senator Dolan, referenced the specific commitment to human rights under the UN. We need the backstop to preserve human rights in the context of the Good Friday Agreement.