Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. Fáilte romhat isteach a Aire Stáit. Táim an-bhuíoch díot as an sáorobair atá deanta agat ar an Bill tábhachtach seo. This is a very important and comprehensive Bill that ticks many of the boxes for measures we need to see as soon as possible.

As Green Party spokesperson on rural development, I cannot reiterate often enough the importance of the roll-out of rural broadband, which comes into play in this Bill. A universal service obligation for broadband is critical. We already have it for telephone services. That the Bill provides that broadband black spots will not be allowed in future is very important. I get numerous phone calls from people who are hanging from a barn or shed roof trying to make phone calls or get Internet access as they try to run a business. People are paying through the nose for decent broadband. I could speak ad nauseam about the lengths people have to go to run a business and get access to phone and broadband coverage.

With that in mind, it would be great to get some figures on progress in rolling out rural broadband. I know there has been some positive developments in expediting that. The Minister of State referred to there being no broadband black spots in future. When exactly will that be? Everything is happening in the future but it would be good to have narrower timelines. The Minister of State also said the Bill will ensure that rural homes are not left off the network, if too far from the main line. That is good news. Many of us feel we are going to be left out because while broadband is being provided in villages, the companies are forgetting about the hinterlands. I hear this regularly from people living in rural Ireland. It is good that action is being taken and I know the speed at which the companies are working has vastly improved.

To give one anecdote, Barefield National School was promised broadband two years in a row. In the end, the head of National Broadband Ireland, NBI, and I had to get involved because the contractors were doing a bit of work, leaving and coming back a few weeks later to do another bit of wiring. It was going on and on. It is not my job or the job of the head of NBI to get involved in the provision of broadband for one school. Barefield National School now has broadband and there was nearly a bottle of champagne popped because it had been waiting so long. We need make sure contractors and subcontractors are doing things in a timely fashion. They are charging enough to do the work. There has to be some follow-up on how long it takes them to do it so that the head of NBI and I do not have to go into such detail in a school. For me to receive so many emails and phone calls about one school is not an efficient or sustainable way of rolling out broadband. We need to put it back on the contractors a small bit.

Consumer protection, the idea of having a basic standard of services provision for customers, is a major issue. If companies do not meet the standard, they are to be fined, finally. That is important because people are sick of waiting for hours on end for Eircom or whoever to get back to them. I apologise for mentioning a particular company because none of them is either very good or very bad. However, there have been so many complaints by people who have been left for hours waiting and trying to figure out things. People can also queue for hours in mobile phone shops, which they do not always have time to do.

Rural broadband is essential for business and working from home. It is essential for balanced regional development to give people in rural areas the chance to work where they live, the same way as people in urban areas with good broadband can. It is also part of the cost of living because if we can work from home, we can reduce our travel costs. It is important that the Bill deals with the regulation of the communications sector because people need to get fair prices for phone and broadband services.

I worked from home for 12 years full time when most people were not doing it. I was working for an NGO and I had to work with schools in three counties but my office was at home. There was no digital hub near me at the time. I approached Gerry Fitzpatrick, God rest him, who had an empty building in Ennistymon, which was previously a Supervalu shop. It is now one of the best digital hubs in Ireland. It has start-ups, phone rooms and meeting rooms. It is an amazing success and has brought people to live in the area. These things, as well as good broadband, are very important socially and mentally. Even if people have good broadband at home, it is often good to have a place like a digital hub to go to in order to interact with other people.

I would like to see a specific grant provided for installing solar panels on the roofs of digital hub buildings. These are high energy intensive places where the heating has to be kept on to keep people warm all day every day. Money should also be ring-fenced for the public relations efforts of digital hubs because not everybody knows they exist. We have ten of them in County Clare, in Ennistymon, Ennis, Milltown Malbay, Corofin, Sixmilebridge, Feakle, Cross, Kilkee, Kilrush and my home village of Inagh. However, many people are still not aware of them. People need to be reminded of that. Perhaps local authorities or the providers are not that au faitwith Instagram, LinkedIn and the other places where the movers and shakers who would use a digital hub would be active. An advertisement in the local paper is not going to get those people into the digital hubs. A PR piece on them would be useful.

This is a positive Bill. The supports provided for local rural post offices cannot be praised enough. Go raibh míle maith agat as an obair thar a bheith tábhachtach do mhuintir na tuaithe.