Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming in today. Senator Buttimer was entirely correct when he talked about the significant project the roll-out of broadband will be. The Senator compares it to rural electrification. I would like to compare it to another big project, namely, the late Minister, Donogh O'Malley, making available secondary school education to children, in terms of the potential impact the roll-out of broadband could have. The angle I want to come at it from is the importance of the roll-out of broadband in tackling educational disadvantage. If we leave not only parts of the country but communities in rural areas behind in terms of access to broadband, we will be making a big mistake. That is the equivalent. People learn through information, information is available on the Internet and we access that through broadband. We have seen that, particularly over the past two years of the pandemic.

One of the most disappointing responses to the pandemic was when we closed down schools from January to March last year. In doing that, we cut many children from an educationally disadvantaged background off, even from remote learning, because many of them did not have access given the high-cost of broadband in this country. Some were relying on data in order to be able to access the education they needed. Research from the ESRI and other research institutes around Europe has shown that other countries are providing catch-up funds for children because educational disadvantage has been exacerbated by the pandemic. I would argue that access to broadband is a cause of that.

On a most basic level, it is vital that both schools and education facilities across the country have access to high-quality broadband. It is fundamental to ensure there is no divide in educational equality based on where you live. We saw during the pandemic, when school children and students were required to engage in remote learning, that a lack of access to reliable broadband, or any broadband, quickly became an issue. A lack of not only a good Internet connection but an Internet connection that is accessible and cheap for families from all backgrounds, should never act as a barrier to educational opportunities.

Last year the Whitaker Institute at NUIG, in its policy brief series, noted that one in six higher education students in Ireland is from an area with poor broadband coverage. It went on to note that students from areas with the lowest level of broadband coverage were on average more likely to be socio-economically disadvantaged and that the digital divide had the potential to create significant inequalities in education at all levels. At the same time, we are seeing a greater reliance on technology in our schools and more children are using the Internet to help with their homework. Intrinsic to this is not only basic Internet access, fast Internet access and reliable Internet access, but Internet access that is affordable or, preferably, free for families.

No child in primary or secondary school or in a higher education institution should be put in a position where his or her potential educational achievement or access is being stunted by lack of access to broadband. This is as much an issue of reducing inequalities in our education system as it is about facilitating remote working or helping business. It will have long-term impacts on children across the country if the digital divide that has opened up is not closed. Covid-19 and remote learning brought these issues into stark focus and it is essential that the Government now delivers on the commitments in the national broadband plan and tries to focus on getting free broadband for children from all backgrounds, both urban and rural.