Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. It is important to reiterate that everybody wants to ensure there is broadband provision for people in rural areas. There are important issues to be discussed about how we achieve that, but to claim that people on this side of the House do not want broadband provision extended is juvenile. We have been asking for this provision for years. The problem is that the Government's national broadband plan represents a disaster for taxpayers and for all citizens, each one of whom pays VAT. I commend the 12 year old girl in County Mayo, Aoibheann Mangan from Hollymount, who challenged the Taoiseach on the issue this morning, outlining to him the broadband problem and the associated inequalities. People across the board are concerned about inadequate broadband provision but also want to ensure its extension is implemented properly.

The plan the Government has put forward is based on a failed tendering process and a flawed-cost benefit analysis and does not represent value for money. The taxpayer will not even own the infrastructure after investing almost €3 billion in it. We saw the same thing happen under a Fianna Fáil Government when Eircom was sold off and left in the hands of Australian and French billionaires to asset-strip it. The Minister indicated a span of 25 years for the project. Will it be possible for the system or any part of it be sold off within that period? Does the contract include clauses for affordability or could the operator end up charging what it likes? In Britain, there is an ongoing discussion about public ownership and the possibility of re-nationalising many essential services. There are few services more essential than broadband, which has an impact on healthcare delivery in respect of X-rays and so on, job opportunities and many other issues. We saw with JobPath what can happen when we hand the delivery of services over to the private sector. We keep querying the €159 million cost associated with that but have not been able to get the full information. Again, we are seeing attempts to hide behind the notion of commercial sensitivity. The broadband project is being removed from the people, but they should have a say over such a vital element of infrastructure.

All parties say they are willing to look at all options and that the political will exists for us to move forward. I do not want all of our time here to be used up in looking back at what was done wrongly or the many missed opportunities over the years to provide rural areas with a communications infrastructure that is fit for purpose. Today Sinn Féin launches its plan to have the ESB, by way of ministerial direction, roll out the national broadband plan. With the right political will, the solution we have put forward to solve the current debacle would ensure an almost immediate start to work on the roll-out of the infrastructure. I expect the Minister will reject it out of hand with reference to the state aid rules. However, my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, firmly put that issue to bed on "Pat Kenny's Big Debate" last night. Under the European Commission's 2013 communication on state aid rules for the deployment of broadband, it is clear that where it can be demonstrated that a private investor is not in a position to provide adequate broadband to all citizens within a period of three years, then state aid measures may be used. The matter seems straightforward and I ask the Minister to address it directly in his reply. The state aid red herring should not be raised repeatedly whenever broadband is discussed.

It is possible to select ESB as broadband operator using one of two options. First, there is the negotiated procedure without prior public notice, which could be used to choose ESB where no suitable tenders have been received from a previous open competition. We have had an open competition for broadband and it has demonstrably failed. Therefore, we are confident that the nomination of ESB can be justified to the Commission. Has any advice been sought from the latter in this regard in advance of making such a serious decision? The second option is the restricted procedure whereby any company may request to participate in a call for competition but the State may invite only those it deems suitable. The ESB meets that criterion. Under restricted procedure, the State can set a time limit of 60 days from the request to respond to a call for receipt of tenders. In other words, we are not talking about months or years. In fact, the process could be wrapped up within a few months with the right political will. Sinn Féin's plan arises from our arguing, researching, negotiating and lobbying on behalf of people in rural areas for many years. It was my colleague, Mr. Matt Carthy, MEP, who was alert to the Government not making the request under the EU's TEN-T core map review process.

We are making our announcement one week before the local and European elections because it is our view that we are on the wrong pathway in seeking to ensure adequate broadband provision for all. It is not about delaying the project but it does require further analysis. We have shown clearly how it can be done in a timely manner. We will strongly regret going down the path down which the Government seems adamant to proceed and in which it is supported by Fianna Fáil. I urge the Minister not to reject the Sinn Féin plan simply because we are eight days from the elections and he is trying his hardest to fulfil a promise the Government made to people in rural Ireland more than eight years ago. We must stop and think before proceeding. We absolutely need adequate broadband provision.We need it to have full coverage and be affordable. I do not believe the private sector will deliver it in the way an organisation such as the ESB could.