Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and the Secretary General of the Department. I was a Minister of State in that Department for a period of time and was involved with some of the work to deliver broadband and the work National Broadband Ireland is now undertaking. It has had a long, difficult gestation, but the contract has been signed, funding has been committed, and work is ongoing. I certainly know other projects can make announcements at different stages and people will say they will not believe it until they see the machines and the diggers. That is part of the issue here. I have always assured people that somebody has to be first to be connected and, unfortunately, somebody has to be last, when connecting every house in the country. It was the same for electrification. The Black Valley in Kerry was the last place to be electrified. A place in Ireland will be the last to be connected, but the important point is that all places will be connected.

The work that is going on, such as surveying, is evident in certain areas. It then has to go through the stages of design, build and connection. Some areas are connected, including my own area on the outskirts of Galway city, Bushypark, Barna and parts of Moycullen. When everybody hears that someone in the next townland has got it, they might be in a different grouping or phase, so it takes some explaining. The maps are there and they are evidence. We have to bring people with it, to see that areas are being connected. It is starting. It is not completing all of one county. It is not starting in Dublin and working its way out. It is starting in every province, in every county, and it is evident from the maps where there is a start point and where there will be a concluding point. I appreciate there will be a delay of a few years until all areas are connected. If we can expedite it through investment or such, that would be welcome. This is a positive story. We know the importance of broadband and of connectivity. We know the capabilities of remote working and working from home. We know the importance of the hubs, hotspots and the with Údarás na Gaeltachta agus an obair atá déanta aige trasna na tíre chun seirbhísí agus áiseanna a chur ar fáil do dhaoine agus gnóthaí le go mbeidh siad in ann oibriú ón mbaile nó óna gceantar féin. Tá sé sin fíorthábhacht.

Hub spots, hotspots and so on are important for progressing the opportunities for remote working, working from home and working in the regions. This is a positive and it is important we recognise that it is a positive, that work is going ahead, and that anything we can do to push it along faster would be appreciated.