I am disappointed by the response. It gives no comfort to the many thousands of people within close proximity, or within metres, of the services. This goes back to whoever took out a compass and drew a circle around rural areas, meaning that if a person was inside the circle, he or she was included, and if that person was not, he or she was not. It makes no sense.
While the Minister of State cannot direct operators, I would at least expect him to say he will request Eir to consider areas similar to those I outlined and those with which he is very familiar. I could cite many cases. One hotel is within 100 m of one side, because it is linked to one exchange, and within 100 m on the other. That is not sensible. The Minister of State, who understands this matter better than others because he comes from a rural area, has a responsibility to contact Eir and ask it whether it can do something about this. The operators are even prepared to make a contribution. What is happening makes no sense at all. All we want is pragmatism and a statement that the national broadband plan will pick up the slack. As the Minister of State said, the contract will not be signed until the end of the year, so action will be years down the road. When the work begins, the operators should start in the peripheral parts of the country and work inwards, rather than starting in the centre and working out.