Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Feb 2008

Vol. 648 No. 2

Broadband Services: Motion.

Deputy Simon Coveney

I move:

"That Dáil Éireann,

recognising the growth in the numbers subscribing to broadband services, noting the strong enthusiasm of Irish consumers for broadband services when they are available and acknowledging the potential for next generation broadband;

recognising the vital importance of high-speed broadband connectivity for the economic future of Ireland, and accepting that Ireland currently rates poorly against our international competitors on speeds and bandwidth;

insisting on the need to adopt a highly ambitious approach to the rapid rollout of next generation broadband, and on the need for Government to work with and complement private sector activity to maximise next generation access rollout;

noting that copper wire infrastructure between exchanges and cabinets nationwide needs to be upgraded to fibre as a matter of priority;

noting improvements in backbone infrastructure, but also the need to continually build on capacity and promote competitive pricing;

noting the need for further investment in international broadband connectivity and the opportunities that exist in this regard;

noting the unavailability of any broadband service in many parts of Ireland, in particular in rural isolated regions;

noting the concerns that have been expressed about the potential success of the national broadband scheme; and

recognising the potential of e-Government services, but noting the findings of the recent Comptroller and Auditor General's report in this regard;

calls on the Government to:

deliver on its commitment to provide as a matter of urgency adequate broadband availability to 100% of the population;

set clear ambitious targets on average speeds, availability and penetration rates to be achieved within set timeframes in the short and medium term;

require the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to report in detail to the Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources every six months on these targets and on Government policy;

commit to commencing, as a matter of priority, the following specific steps to achieve rollout of high-speed infrastructure:

revise the terms of the national broadband scheme to require that it provide a minimum service of at least three megabits per second;

undertake an immediate audit of all broadband telecommunications infrastructure under public and private ownership nationwide, in particular an audit of all ducting infrastructure capable of carrying fibreoptic cable;

consult with the regulator on achieving "open access" to all privately and publicly-owned ducting;

draw up a detailed plan for state investment to expand on existing infrastructure where market failure exists;

build and roll out open-access ducting in appropriate areas while coordinating with private and public sectors; and

immediately pass regulations to require telecommunications ducting to be installed to all new buildings, to require ducting to be installed in new road developments where appropriate, and to ensure that all ICT-related infrastructure is subject to fast-track planning rules;

finance pilot projects in the wireless sector to promote new technologies;

prioritise the provision of free Wi-Fi connectivity on all State-owned public transport systems;

ensure connection of next generation access to all schools and third level institutions as a matter of urgency, to complement the Department of Education and Science's ICT in education strategy;

relaunch efforts to achieve an ambitious programme of e-Government services on-line, with a clear budget, targets and timeframe;

introduce a range of new measures to drive demand for broadband services and IT usage;

commission a feasibility study on how to expose elderly and immobile people to the benefits of next generation access."

I wish to share time with Deputies Mitchell, Feighan, Carey, D'Arcy, Clune and Hayes.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Deputy Simon Coveney

Some time ago Fine Gael decided to commit Private Members' business this week to debating the importance of making high speed broadband available across the country and the challenge to the Government of making that happen. The vital importance and potential of an advanced broadband infrastructure in Ireland is underestimated by many, including some politicians and policy makers. If we do nothing else this week, I hope we can instil an increased sense of urgency to the broadband debate and a recognition that what is needed now are definitive actions from the Government to facilitate, encourage and where appropriate force the pace of rolling out what has become known as next generation broadband in Ireland.

I had hoped to be able to achieve a consensus with the Government parties on this motion. It would have been a strong and positive signal from this House if we could have agreed a clear wording on the importance and urgency of creating a modern broadband infrastructure, and an agreed set of initial actions to achieve that aim. That is exactly what my motion is trying to do. It would have been a particularly strong statement of intent, considering the kind of partisan politics that has recently been forced on this House by the actions and statements of the Taoiseach. However, the Minister and his Department have decided not to go down the road less travelled, presumably out of a fear of conceding that problems exist and of committing to set achievable targets on broadband penetration, price and speed in Ireland.

This Fine Gael motion is a little long, but that is because there are many strands to the issue. The text and proposed actions are not particularly controversial, they are not party political at all, and they are not even directly critical of the Government's performance — and God knows there is no shortage of ammunition to do that. This motion is simply a factual assessment of where Ireland is at in terms of broadband infrastructure. It is a recognition of the vital need for high-speed affordable connectivity and it contains, most importantly, a set of proposed defined actions to move us in the right direction.

I appeal to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to reconsider the Government's approach. Anybody who knows anything about the broadband challenge that we face could not stand over the Government's amendment as a fair reflection of the current state of play and what needs to be done to improve things. The Minister's amendment simply slaps the Government on the back in a self-congratulatory way for its performance and foresight on the issue, focusing on a few positives while totally ignoring all of the serious deficits that exist in Ireland's telecommunications infrastructure. The Minister should at least have the honesty to admit that all is not well and that a new ambitious approach is needed.

There is not one positive specific action proposed in the Government's amendment. Instead we have the promise of a new policy paper on next generation broadband at some undefined date in the future, following consultation with another forum on broadband and following further consultation with the stakeholders after that. The Government's approach is to congratulate itself for all the great work done to date on MANS, on regulation, on increased subscriber figures, and to continue a consultation process indefinitely on next generation broadband. This will not inspire confidence in those looking to the Government for leadership and urgency on this issue and it certainly will not inspire confidence in people across the country who cannot access any form of broadband service. There are many such people, some of whom are in the Visitors Gallery.

What is most disappointing is that this response is coming from a Minister who regularly calls for real debate and cross-party co-operation on issues of fundamental importance to Ireland. This is the man who wants to keep party politics out of vital policy debates, the man who wants a Tallaght strategy on climate change policy, and I agree with him on that. However, this response to our motion either shows that he has not got the courage of his convictions or he is simply not being allowed by his civil servants to work with us on this. Perhaps the thought of agreeing with a Fine Gael motion simply was not palatable to his Fianna Fáil partners in Government.

Whatever the reason, the Minister is playing politics with a motion that could have been amended and a compromise agreed, which he chose not to do. Instead he continues with the consultation process on next generation broadband for concrete action sometime in the future. All the while Ireland falls further behind our neighbouring and competing countries in almost all of the measurable performance indicators relating to broadband. The four main performance indicators that measure our performance on broadband are penetration, which measures the percentage of people subscribing to a broadband service in a country; speed, the non-technical term related to bandwidth which describes the speed that information or data can be uploaded or downloaded though a broadband connection; availability, related to the ability for consumers or businesses to access a broadband service at all; and price, the cost of using a broadband product or service.

In terms of penetration, figures released yesterday by the European Competitive Telecommunications Association place us 12th out of the 15 original EU countries. Our penetration rate is 16.8% compared to an average of 19.9% throughout the EU. Most significantly we are well below our immediate neighbours and competitors. The UK and Belgium have a 25% penetration figure, Finland and Sweden are on 30%, Holland and Denmark are on 34%. These countries have a similar spread to Ireland of urban and rural people. The Minister will say these figures do not include mobile broadband subscribers and that mobile broadband has been a real growth area in recent years. That is true, but the figures do not include mobile broadband due to the risk of double counting, as many people with a fixed broadband service also have a mobile subscription. It is commonplace for people who rely heavily on broadband to have a fixed line in their office and mobile broadband as they travel around or at home. We should not be double counting. However, our penetration rate even including mobile connections is still below the EU 25 average for fixed-line-only penetration. The Fine Gael motion recognises that the numbers of subscribers have increased dramatically in the last 12 months, but we still have a lot of catching up to do.

The figures on broadband speed are even more worrying. The latest OECD figures from October 2007 put us at 33rd out of 35 OECD countries for average advertised download speeds, ahead of only Mexico and Turkey. Ireland's figure is three megabits per second compared to the OECD average of 13.7 megabits per second. The figures for the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden and France are 10.6, 13, 21.4 and 44 megabits per second, respectively. On the other side of the globe, South Korea and Japan, two countries with which we must compete, have average speeds of 43 and 94 megabits per second, respectively. Although these figures refer to advertised speeds as opposed to actual speeds — some in the industry have a concern in this regard — they give a good guide as to what is universally accepted to be Ireland's disastrous position in terms of the broadband speeds available to the vast majority of businesses and consumers.

Availability is a major problem, particularly in rural areas. The Government concedes that at least 10% of the population has no access to a broadband service of any kind. However, as this figure is derived from asking broadband companies, rather than consumers, what is the position, many people suspect the actual figure is much higher. For example, a reliable survey by Leitrim County Council found that 50% of the 1,000 people interviewed had no access to a broadband service. The Government has established the national broadband scheme to address the issue but ComReg has conceded it will not achieve 100% coverage. It is very likely that due to substantial problems with competition law, coverage may not even come close to that figure.

Price is also an issue of major concern and figures from Forfás indicate that the fastest connections available to businesses cost four to five times more than much faster connections in competitor countries. While progress has been made on improving backhaul infrastructure and unbundling local loops through regulation, we are certainly not at a stage where we can sit back and presume no further work is required. We need to ensure competition in the wholesale provision of infrastructure delivers keen pricing and sufficient capacity and bandwidth.

It is also necessary to consider improving our international broadband connectivity. The global crossing project, which was controversial at the time of construction, has proven to be a great success and needs to be built on. We need to consider establishing a similar project to create substantial international connectivity via a cable coming ashore outside the Dublin area for the purpose of attracting data centres and similar businesses reliant on such key infrastructure.

The broadband debate is essentially about two fundamental issues, namely, availability and access for everybody and speeds. In contrast to the Minister's amendment, which does not call for action but focuses on having more consultation, I call on the Government to commit to specific, achievable steps that will impact on the availability and speed of broadband.

The centrepiece of the Fine Gael Party plan is ducting, a type of pipe that houses fibre optic cable and constitutes a large part of the cost of installing high speed connection throughout the country. My party calls for new regulations to require ducting to be installed in all new buildings to ensure future homes and businesses are fibre enabled and, where appropriate, in road developments to ensure backbone infrastructure is constantly upgraded in a cost effective manner, with minimal need for expensive digging work. Most important, we call for a series of actions to ensure the roll-out of new ducting in areas where it can have most impact in subsidising the private sector's installation costs for fibre optic cable. In this regard, Fine Gael calls for an immediate audit of all broadband telecommunications infrastructure under public and private ownership in order that we identify what infrastructure is available. This audit must focus specifically on what ducting is available.

The Fine Gael Party wants, through regulation, to achieve open access to all ducting to enable competition between infrastructure providers at wholesale level, as has been done in France with considerable success. We also want a broadband roll-out management company established to manage on behalf of the State, negotiate with the private sector and invest moneys from the budget committed under the national development plan in new infrastructure, as required.

The motion sets targets because the Government has repeatedly shown itself incapable of meeting targets in many areas, including e-government projects and the White Paper on Energy within the Minister's brief. It is for this reason that the motion is insistent on setting targets and holding the Minister to account by providing that he report every six months to the Oireachtas committee on his achievements.

The motion calls for the future-proofing of the national broadband scheme to ensure we do not cement the urban-rural divide on broadband by failing to provide for sufficient speeds. It also proposes a number of measures to promote the demand side of IT and broadband by targeting schools, public transport and the elderly. While this list of demands will not solve all problems, it makes a good start. I commend the motion to the House and urge the Minister to support it.

Deputy Olivia Mitchell

I welcome the opportunity to support my colleague, Deputy Coveney, on this important motion. Some years ago — I believe it was in the context of planning for the digital hub — I heard the Taoiseach refer to his ambition to see Ireland become the e-commerce centre of the world. Even at the time, I considered his words to be hyperbole, although I admired them for showing vision and ambition. I have a sense that such ambition is absent and has been replaced by complacency, a slipping of concern and resignation that Ireland will remain not only second best, but will lag behind all those nations with which we must compete.

With regard to the availability, speed and quality of broadband, our position has dropped to a level reminiscent of that which pertained in respect of our telephone system in the 1970s. While the Minister is too young to remember those times, I vividly remember that one could not obtain a telephone unless one knew the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, which ruled out members of the Fine Gael Party. Sometimes, if one was particularly lucky, one would receive a present of a black telephone without a connection. Those days are gone. That was the old Ireland and we have moved on and become a much more open, rich country that makes a net contribution to the European Union. In this case, however, the EU will not intervene and save us and it is for the Government to do the work.

As the Minister is aware, I am a believer in the market. However, markets sometimes fail and Government intervention is required not to replace the private sector, but to facilitate, assist and regulate it and, in this case, to ensure infrastructure does not fall into the hands of a monopolist. It must intervene to force the pace of change in the roll-out of broadband access.

Last summer, the nation was in a frenzy about the loss of the Shannon to Heathrow route because we know the economic importance of connections to other parts of the world. Virtual connections are even more important, especially in the area of tourism, on which I am my party's spokesperson. The arrival of the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on the tourism industry. People browse the Internet to select holiday destinations, book flights and obtain information about their holiday.

Small businesses worldwide have been empowered by the Internet, which provides all businesses with a platform to compete on a global scale that they could not have imagined hitherto and to market themselves to every customer in every corner of the world. Unfortunately, Irish small and medium size enterprises cannot compete, especially in the tourism industry, if they do not have access to broadband or have poor capacity broadband. Relative to almost all our competitors, we are disadvantaged in trying to attract tourists. There is no point in Fáilte Ireland or Tourism Ireland spending millions of euro trying to attract tourists if our practitioners — service providers, hoteliers and tour operators — cannot close the deal. Tragically, broadband access is worst in the areas where dependence on tourism is greatest, namely, outside the capital and other cities. How can SMEs in the tourism sector, whether in Clare or the midlands, promote themselves with video-marketing tools which require high-speed capacity? How can they provide interactive booking opportunities or other applications to their customers when they do not even have a dial-up connection? How can we discuss providing a conference facility in the mid-west and seriously expect to attract high-end, high-tech and high-spending business tourists if they cannot access high-speed internet connections when they are here? They need video-conferencing to contact not only their own offices but also other offices in other parts of the world. This is a basic requirement of business people and if the Government is serious about boosting tourism and extending the tourism year by providing conference centres then high-speed broadband must come with it.

Apart from business tourists, almost everybody travelling for pleasure, family reasons or business brings their laptops with them and expects to be able to stay in touch with family and the workplace. We must be serious about tourism now that the building industry is in decline. The Minister must take on board the contents of this motion.

Deputy Frank Feighan

I support this motion. Is the Minister satisfied that broadband penetration has been a success throughout the country? Broadband is three times slower but far more expensive here than in other EU states. I live three miles from the nearest centre and accessing broadband through a landline was costing me almost €200 per month. Eventually, I got mobile broadband and the cost is down to €25 per month. This is welcome but I know that every day all of my colleagues are asked by constituents when they will have broadband.

If one lives in a major population centre one is rich with infrastructure. However, if one comes from a rural area it costs ten times more and one is not able to carry on one's business. This Government speaks about having small industries throughout the country. However, with regard to broadband the country is divided between haves and have nots. I welcome some of the measures taken by the Minister with regard to broadband but in the past ten years not bloody much has been done.

In County Roscommon we have a metropolitan area network and it was great to see broadband coming to the area. To date, 27 cities and towns, including Roscommon and Carrick on Shannon, have been included in this programme. The Government has plans to roll out a further 90 projects throughout the country in the second phase. We always hear about this second phase but it has not happened. Businesses will not come to the smaller towns in my constituency because they want metropolitan area network broadband.

Perhaps I should address my next question to the man sitting beside the Minister, namely, Deputy Killeen. With regard to finalising the roll out of the second phase, it was decided a value for money and policy review project would be carried out in my area. Why in God's name was this decided when the smaller towns there desperately need broadband? I believe this money was diverted to Clare because of the Shannon debacle. Will the Minister investigate this? This is what is coming out of the Department. Those in Castlerea and Boyle are certain this money was diverted to Shannon, which is wrong of the Government and is anti small rural areas. Will Deputy Killeen answer this question? He will not be able to answer it because it is the truth.

Deputy Tony Killeen

What does Deputy Joe Carey think?

An Ceann Comhairle

I call Deputy Joe Carey. It is nice to know it is not all one-way traffic.

Deputy Joe Carey

The time has come for the State to actively pursue the issue of broadband services. I listen to the Government proclaim how our economy has changed and how we must position ourselves for the future. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment often speaks of our future as a knowledge economy and one of our larger exports is software.

If this is the case and we wish to position ourselves internationally in this manner, it is of critical importance that the Government addresses the issues outlined in this Fine Gael motion. The large international corporations we hope to attract will not wait a number of years for the private sector to provide what is essentially a vital piece of public infrastructure.

Historically, the State has intervened and actively promoted projects of national strategic importance. In the 1920s our first Government worked with Siemens of Germany to construct the hydroelectric power generating station at Ardnacrusha in my constituency. At the time this idea was laughed at and it was thought that Ardnacrusha would provide too much electricity. Today, Ardnacrusha provides less than 2% of the national grid's requirements. The rural electrification scheme is often referred to as the "quiet revolution" in that it brought about major change to this country.

The point about both of these projects is that the Governments involved were innovative, visionary and committed enough to see through and be actively involved in projects which were of enormous benefit to the State. In contrast to this, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in response to a parliamentary question I put down last July stated the role of Government is to implement regulatory and infrastructure policies to facilitate the provision of high-quality telecommunications services by competing private sector service providers in a fully liberalised market.

The Minister washed his hands in this reply. This bridesmaid-type role is not good enough and will never allow us progress to the standards to which we aspire. This motion calls on the Government to take a more active hands-on role. The motion seeks clear political commitment to the provision of broadband services, allowing our economy to develop and prosper in the future.

E-Teams is a company based in Scariff in east Clare. This small town has a population of 800. E-Teams provides a worldwide translation service, and provided official translation services during both the Irish and UK Presidencies of the Council of the European Union. The issue of quality broadband is critical for this company and access to a group broadband scheme has enabled it to employ 27 people. Unfortunately, if one lives in the countryside that surrounds Scariff one does not have access to broadband and one cannot work from home.

The potential for the development of our economy with regard to access to broadband is threefold, through large international corporations, small and medium enterprises such as E-Teams, and the possibility for the individual of working from home.

I welcome the progress made on the metropolitan area network in Kilrush but it is frustratingly slow. The infrastructure is now in the ground but the scheme is still not operational even though it was announced in 2004. The exclusion of Ennis and Shannon from the metropolitan area network programme is astonishing. It is incredible that these two towns were never included in the initial 88 towns announced in 2004. Ennis is supposed to be the information age town but large areas around Ennis do not have broadband and broadband speeds vary significantly throughout the town.

While I welcome the establishment of a number of group broadband schemes in County Clare the significant variance in cost and speed must be pointed out. Participants on the Kilfenora scheme pay up to €36 per month whereas in Corofin, less than 10 miles away, they pay €15 per month. Vast areas throughout County Clare have no broadband and little chance of getting it. If the Government is serious about broadband and this country's future then it must at the very least set clear targets on average speeds, availability and penetration rates. These targets must be achieved within set timeframes. The Minister must move beyond his regulatory and facilitative role and for this reason I support the motion.

Deputy Michael D’Arcy

I welcome the opportunity to address this positive motion. This side of the House has long been lectured, in particular by the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, who today stated Fine Gael is "policy bankrupt". Nothing could be further from the truth. I will not go over the figures quoted already but 17% penetration is extremely poor. This motion has a target of 100% penetration at 3 megabytes. This would be a major benefit for our economy.

Our economy's survival depends on competitiveness, which we need to align with a knowledge-based economy. In the past our corporation tax rate was a major benefit. Our low wage base was sufficient in attracting foreign direct investment. Now, however, we have high wage structures and our corporation tax is less attractive. Many of our economic competitors are not Third World countries but European, such as Austria and Switzerland. Switzerland offers a zero rate of corporation tax to multinational companies willing to locate there. Compared to what is available in this State, we are a long way behind.

When these difficulties with higher wage structures and declining corporation tax benefits are aligned with poor broadband services, Ireland becomes a less attractive location for multinational companies and foreign direct investment.

Deputies Joe Carey and Feighan referred to the MANs, the second phase of which the Minister must re-examine. Some 88 towns were to be connected under this phase. County Wexford, one of the largest counties in the State, with 140,000 inhabitants, will only have one town connected in this phase. Gorey, Enniscorthy and New Ross, three towns with over 10,000 inhabitants, will have no connection to the MANs. Will the Minister and his officials examine what has gone wrong with the scheme? Why do Ennis, Enniscorthy, Gorey and many other large towns not have the opportunity to attract investment in companies, such as call centres, through the MANs scheme?

Many press reports have referred to chief executive officers of multinational companies being embarrassed by Ireland's lack of broadband availability and speeds, particularly the experience of E-Bay's chief executive officer. I was informed by the chief executive officer of a County Wexford company, which employs 200 people, that whenever an e-mail comes into his company, he gets a telephone call and he then must go to an Internet cafe to download it. This company pays corporation tax, PRSI and other taxes and brings much benefit to the county. The Minister must recognise this is not good enough.

Deputy Deirdre Clune

This debate concerns the lack of investment and planning in broadband services. The four key areas in the provision of broadband are penetration, speed, access and cost. A 2007 Forfás report showed Ireland was below the EU average in the provision of broadband services and behind our competitors. Last week's European Competitive Telecommunications Association report showed Ireland was in the bottom four of EU broadband performance. Being below average is simply not good enough.

We have identified ourselves as a knowledge-based economy. We need to encourage entrepreneurship and regional development and attract foreign direct investment. To match these aspirations, we need a first-class telecommunications infrastructure. Instead terms such as "embarrassing" have been used to describe our broadband services. The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, ISME, has described them as a joke. I would describe it as serious if we are to have ambitions for the economy to grow. We must provide the basic broadband infrastructure for businesses to carry on.

Unless high-speed broadband capacity is provided for in the regions, people will not move out of Dublin, a point made clearly by businesses. The Minister has promised another forum on broadband services. Instead of forums we need action to ensure we achieve our ambition to develop a knowledge-based economy and encourage entrepreneurship. Without the necessary broadband penetration, speed and access, we will go nowhere.

I urge the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to take on board Deputy Coveney's proposals which are practical and realistic ambitions that can be fulfilled and will get us to the same level as our competitors.

Deputy Tom Hayes

Broadband service improvements are essential for Ireland's economic future and are being neglected. Yesterday's report from the European Competitive Telecommunications Association put Ireland 12th out of 15 European countries in the provision of broadband. Ireland lags behind other countries in broadband penetration. The number of people who have it is still exceptionally low. Even countries as vast as Australia perform better than us; we are 30th out of 34 countries in the OECD broadband per household report.

One key issue from an enterprise development perspective is the limited range and speed of broadband services available and their comparatively higher cost. For example, an Irish business would pay over €2,000 per annum for a six megabits per second package, while in Germany, a company would pay approximately €500 for treble that speed.

Recently in Golden, County Tipperary, I undertook a petition for the provision of quality reliable broadband in the area. Within three days over 200 people in this small village signed it. Such experience could be resonated in every village throughout the country. In Cashel, County Tipperary, a television programme took approximately one minute to download using broadband in my office. On dial-up in Golden, four miles away, the same programme took 27 minutes. This is the reality of the sketchy broadband services available.

In response to a recent parliamentary question on making Tipperary town a Wi-Fi hot-spot, the Minister replied that external private companies were dealing with broadband and he would welcome any developments. Why is the Government letting it all happen as if there were no problem?

The Government needs to incentivise improvements in the supply, speed and reliability of broadband services. It must make installation of telecommunications ducting on all national road upgrades mandatory, an idea put forward by Forfás. The contract terms of the national broadband scheme must be revised to stipulate higher speeds than current ones and spend the money allocated to the scheme.

The Government has wasted public finances on projects such as PPARs. Broadband has not been taken seriously and no amount of press releases and statements by the Minister will change this fact. Broadband is essential. People want it; Ireland wants it. I heard the Minister talking about this on these benches some months ago. However, he has allowed the situation to continue without improvement and, in fact, it has become worse.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Kathleen Lynch)

It is remarkable how accurate the Deputy is about time.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Eamon Ryan)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

Recognising that:

broadband is a key enabler of the knowledge economy and a driver of balanced regional development and social equity;

Ireland has experienced the fastest growth in broadband penetration in the OECD in the last year;

broadband in Ireland is now offered over a multiplicity of platforms including fixed, cable, wireless and mobile networks;

a variety of companies offer numerous broadband products in the Irish market at a range of speeds, at different price points and aimed at all market segments including small medium enterprises (SME) and residential, indicating a strong market dynamic;

the Commission for Communications Regulation now has significantly enhanced powers under the Communications Regulation (Amendment) Act 2007, to enable it to enforce regulatory obligations;

agreement has been reached on local loop unbundling;

an innovative approach has been taken to wireless broadband licensing, with the higher take up of mobile broadband solutions in Ireland and our potential to promote greater access to spectrum for wireless broadband services;

there have been significant improvements in backhaul availability and pricing in recent years; and

high-speed broadband connectivity has vital importance for the economic future of Ireland, and acknowledging the potential for next generation broadband;

commends:

the Government for its positive interventions, such as supporting the construction of metropolitan area networks, through investment of €175 million for networks built or under construction in 93 regional cities and towns and providing capital grants under the county and group broadband scheme;

the Government for the initiative in bringing broadband to almost every school in the country under the schools broadband programme; and

the planned national broadband scheme, which will facilitate the delivery of scalable broadband services to those areas in Ireland where it is currently uneconomic for the telecommunications sector to provide broadband connectivity;

notes:

the work of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in the preparation of a policy paper on next generation broadband (NGB) to establish a framework for the development of access to next generation broadband services;

the purpose of this paper is to set out a clear policy framework for the roll-out by the private sector of NGB at an ambitious level and how Government action will support and complement this;

the establishment of an expert international advisory forum on next generation broadband to advise on the proposed approach;

that the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources intends, following the consultation with the advisory forum, to circulate the NGB paper for consultation with stakeholders with a view to urgently finalising the policy framework; and

that the Minister will engage with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources as part of the consultation process on the NGB paper.

I welcome the opportunity to debate this crucial area of our economic and social development and I thank Deputy Coveney for putting down this motion. For certain reasons I decided to put down a counter-motion from the Government, which I will return to later in my speech. However, this in no way indicates a lack of ambition or sense of importance on this side of the House with regard to the development of this crucial infrastructure for the benefit of our society.

It is crucial for us, in this fast-evolving digital economy, that we have the best available infrastructure to allow Irish enterprise to compete, export and provide services here. It is important, as this new digital economy develops, that we do not leave sections of our economy behind and that we do not have a social or regional divide in accessing services to establish such businesses. It is crucial that the development of the new economy is not just in the private sector but also involves the State, whether it be in the provision of health care, education or other Government services. We can realise major efficiencies and competitive advantages in the provision of public as well as private services where we provide the right infrastructure to allow people to carry such digital services.

As Deputy Coveney mentioned in his opening remarks with regard to environmental issues, society will need to undergo a complete turnaround. The development of an efficient digital system for doing business and providing services is a crucial element in the radical about-turn that will be achieved in our society during our necessary rapid retreat in the use of fossil fuels. For all these reasons, the development of a broadband infrastructure is important and deserves to be centre stage in the consideration of this House.

I appreciate Deputy Carey's point about setting out the role of Government in providing broadband services. The world has changed since the 1970s and things are different. Unfortunately, my constituency colleague, Deputy Mitchell, is wrong — I am long enough in the tooth to remember those times when one would have to wait forever and a day for the provision of a telephone line from a centralised State service. We are now in a more competitive market with a range of private sector operators. The world has changed. The role of Government naturally moves towards establishing the appropriate regulatory system to ensure that we have an effective and competitive market, providing, where necessary, the backup infrastructure to support such development. That is an outline of what the Government is doing.

The debate tonight and tomorrow night is beneficial because it helps us to establish some facts. The area of broadband is complex and fast-moving. It is an industry in which the technology changes almost every year, so that what prevailed a year ago quickly becomes out of date. In the Joint Committee on Communications, the Marine and Natural Resources two years ago, where I was on the Opposition benches, the debate revolved around the fact that there was not enough demand for broadband services. That has changed completely over the last year. This is why it is important for us to know exactly what is going on.

There is clear recognition that we are not all happy. Deputies on both sides of the House are unhappy with progress in the area of broadband. In addition, there is reasonably widespread recognition that one of the main reasons we are not at the top of the league — in fact, we are only catching up — is the delay in 2002 to 2004 due to changes in our incumbent telecommunications provider and the lack of competitiveness in the market. This did not encourage investment in the area of broadband. We must now catch up with and then overtake our international competitors.

Any rational analysis of what has taken place in the last year would recognise that changes have been occurring. There has been progress. There is now broadband availability in roughly 85% of the country. It is changing, and there are areas in which——

Deputy Simon Coveney

It is actually 85% of the population.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

Yes, 85% of the population.

Deputy Simon Coveney

There are large rural areas that do not have broadband availability.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

There are such areas, and we intend to address this issue. There is a range of DSL platforms from fixed-line operators, as well as innovative wireless operators that have provided solutions because the market was not delivering. We have taken steps with new technologies that provide solutions. There is a whole range of operators — cable operators, fibre-optic operators, mobile operators and so on — providing services that were not being provided two, three or four years ago when other countries were ahead of us.

With regard to the catch-up process, we could get into a war of statistics, but there are certain simple statistics that give an indication of where we are going. In the third quarter of 2007, which is the latest period for which figures are available, 793,000 Irish homes subscribed to broadband services. This is a significant change, by any measure, from the case 12 months previously. There was 81% growth over 12 months. This is not an international comparison but a fairly straight figure we can use as one measure of our progress. An 81% increase in one year is not insignificant.

The statistics commonly used as international measures by the OECD are more complex. I will explain in a while why I see them as being complex and difficult to understand. However, if we apply these as a standard to measure our progress, it can be seen that access to broadband has increased significantly in a relatively short time. In early 2005, according to the OECD statistics, there were three broadband subscribers per 100 of our population, while in early 2007 there were seven per 100. However, according to the latest statistics, by the end of 2007 there were 18.4 subscribers per 100. To go from three to seven to 18.4 per 100 in two years is progress.

Deputy Liz McManus

Does that include mobile services?

Deputy Eamon Ryan

No, the OECD's figures do not include mobile services. I will go into further detail about the OECD figures, but one of the difficulties with them is that they do not include the whole range of technologies, some of which represent major progress. The OECD figures show that we are, in the last year, the fastest growing country in terms of pick-up.

Deputy Simon Coveney

Of course we are. We are coming from the lowest base.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

That is true, but we are the fastest growing——

Deputy Simon Coveney

Is the Minister suggesting he is happy with how things are going?

Deputy Eamon Ryan

When we are close to doubling the numbers of subscribers in a year, that is not insignificant.

Deputy Simon Coveney

That is the first point in our motion.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

I will give some more OECD statistics to illustrate the extent of our catch-up. In the third quarter of 2006, when the average OECD figure was some 15.6 broadband subscribers per 100, we had 10.3 users per 100. In the third quarter of 2007, the average OECD figure was 18.8 subscribers per 100, and our figure was 18.4 per 100. Even though the Deputy is saying that we were coming from a low base, he cannot ignore that this represents a catch-up. Our levels are now similar to the OECD average. That is not to say we should be self-satisfied about it, but it is a recognition of the reality.

The OECD statistics are difficult not just because they do not take into account certain technologies in which we tend to be further advanced — in fact, in which we are definitely further advanced than the other leading industrialised countries — but also because they are slightly skewed by the basis of the statistical analysis. By taking the number of subscribers from different households and then equating this to a number per capita, this method ignores that fact that different countries have different average household sizes. Denmark, referred to by Deputy Coveney, is a good example of a country with fast broadband access but the per capita size in that country is completely different. I must find the precise figures before tomorrow night but families in Denmark are smaller than in Ireland. One is not comparing like with like and the Deputy must be careful when using statistics. To give a further example——

Deputy Simon Coveney

The debate is not about statistics, it is about what the Minister needs to do to progress the marketplace.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

I will come to that but statistics are important because the debate has been framed by statistics in a simple analysis that has not provided real clarity about what is happening in good times and in bad.

Deputy Coveney referred to Denmark and I will comment on broadband speed there. Whatever about advertised speed in Denmark, one of the countries of best practice, figures from ComReg show that 3% of Danish consumers take services of more than 10 megabytes per second. In the United States, a leading economy in this digital area——

Deputy Simon Coveney

Not in all states, although it is in California.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

——of the next generation network of high speed broadband areas, 1% of the population were using such high speed connections last July. Whatever about advertised speeds, that is the figure for what people were using. Deputy Coveney referred to the UK speeds, a country that we need to be ahead of——

Deputy Simon Coveney

It is about preparing for the future, what it will be in five years' time, not what it was last year.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

——which is 10.6 megabytes per second. Data from BT shows that less than 5% of customers use such speeds. A debate is useful in getting a sense of what we must do and what we must change. The reality is that we are not there yet but we have improved. We have a similar level of penetration to our colleagues in the northern part of this island. The OECD statistics, which do not take into account different technology and growth since then, show that 40% of Irish households have broadband connection.

Deputy Liz McManus

These are different from the European figures.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

If one includes different technology and growth since then, we are closer——

Acting Chairman

I ask the Minister to address the Chair because he is encouraging people to interrupt.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

I will stop encouraging people.

Deputy Liz McManus

He is being provocative.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

Close to 50% of Irish houses have a broadband connection. We must remember that 40% of Irish houses do not have a computer. We must increase that figure so we can increase penetration in the home, which is only one of the issues, albeit a crucial one. We need broadband in other areas of our life, such as workplaces, schools and hospitals. I agree with Deputy Coveney that we should not get hung up on statistics.

What will the Government do in response to this statistical analysis? Success occurs when one has competitive markets, which is why Denmark and Britain are successful in this area. Last May the House passed the Communications Regulation (Amendment) Act 2007, which gives the regulator strong powers, where necessary, to provide for a competitive market and fast services. There are strong sanctions for inappropriate behaviour, ranging from 10% of turnover to €5 million fines. It is a crucially important development so that we have the right regulatory system and the best international practice. That includes a regulator who has powers comparable to the Competition Authority to ensure anti-competitive behaviour does not take place and that abuse of dominance by any provider is not a possibility. In my experience, our regulators are developing the experience, powers and analysis to carry out their functions in a timely and effective manner.

Deputy Simon Coveney

I agree with that.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

That is important, because this is a competitive market and a strong regulatory system can provide for the Irish people.

Things change quickly in this area and an important development in the past year is the local loop unbundling, where one opens exchanges to allow competing companies access to the network to provide services. The competing companies can buy the services on a wholesale basis. Local loop unbundling has been one of the best drivers in terms of the delivery of wider access broadband at faster speeds and cheaper prices. It was delayed in Ireland and we had difficulties in getting the right regulatory system in place. Last May I welcomed that the industry, the incumbent provider and the regulator could address this with a greater sense of urgency and possibility. In September they agreed a new local loop unbundling package that provides real opportunities for the incumbent and the competitors.

This market has opportunities for everyone. I can think of no other business where the levels of growth are increasing so dramatically. It is not a case of setting one company against another but believing that there remain opportunities for every company to have a successful business plan because the speed of the development of this digital economy is such that it provides for wholesale and retail operators——

Deputy Simon Coveney

Will the Minister take on board any of the actions we suggest?

Deputy Eamon Ryan

I will come to that if I can, Deputy Coveney.

Deputy Simon Coveney

The Minister has four minutes left.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

I do not have four minutes, I have 30 minutes left.

Acting Chairman

I will decide how much time is left. Some 14 minutes remain.

Deputy Simon Coveney

I assumed Deputy Mattie McGrath was speaking.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

No. As a result of local loop unbundling we are starting to see change. One operator is providing ADSL, a fixed line service, with speeds of between 2 megabytes and 15 megabytes per second on 37 exchanges. That serves the possibility of 500,000 lines. Another provider is providing ADSL technology with speeds up to 8 megabytes per second on 22 exchanges, with the potential of 330,000 lines availing of that speed. The regulatory system has made positive changes and work is continuing in that regard.

In infrastructure the Government has a crucial role. The international advisory forum we set up is meeting tonight and includes experts from all over the world, East and West, Europe, Asia and America. It includes those with conviction and expertise in fixed line fibre optic solutions, mobile solutions, the European regulatory system and the Irish regulatory system. It is a useful forum or focus group that we use in politics because they work. It is good to get independent advice to tell one what to think about what one is doing.

Deputy Simon Coveney

The Minister should remember what he said about focus groups when he was on this side of the House.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

I will cite an example of why consulting with international experts who have no vested interest in our plans is exactly the policy we should follow. A previous international forum was set up in 1999 and its recommendation was for the State to invest in a global crossing connection, costing €77 million. It has proved successful in reducing our international connectivity prices to among the lowest in the OECD. That is the type of investment that the State is best doing, when the market is not delivering. It came from a similar forum in the past.

Our commitment to investing, where appropriate, is set out in the National Development Plan 2007-2013 and includes a potential budget of €435 million over that period.

In 2007, we spent €35 million and in 2008 we are committed to a budget of approximately €53 million, primarily for metropolitan area networks and the national broadband scheme. With regard to the metropolitan area networks, Deputy Coveney will recall when we shared the Opposition benches in 2003 that there was clear market failure and nothing was happening. It was agreed by the committee, which produced a report on it, that MANs was the right development and a way to kick-start the process. Where the market was not investing in what was an obvious and crucial development, it was right for the State to step in. We cannot afford to lag behind and for the market not to deliver in those areas. We invested in these high speed, open access networks, with co-location centres so all operators can use the networks on an open access basis. That was the right and proper decision and will prove to be a successful long-term investment for the people of the State. Such digital, high quality, fibre optic ducting is a crucial part of a modern infrastructure.

The first phase of 27 MANs has been built and established, with the company e-Net, the management services entity, operating to provide open access to all operators in the industry on an equal access basis. A total of 66 additional towns have already started construction in phase II of the programme. They will be managed under a second new management services entity. This is a fast-changing technological area so we were aware there were difficulties in terms of how to provide connections from such metropolitan fibre networks to the rest of the network in the backhaul and to the home. It does not provide a fibre cable connection through to the house. Partly due to those concerns, the Department commissioned a value for money review. It will be published in the coming weeks and we will take it into account.

Given the value for money review and the fact that we are examining this entire area on a proper policy assessment basis, including our international advisory forum, I considered it appropriate, as was announced in the Dáil a number of months ago, to delay signing the contracts for new projects within phase II or phase III, which is already set, to reconsider what our investment strategy should be in the context of the difficulties and opportunities that still exist in providing such fibre ducting. This is something I look forward to debating in more detail with the Opposition as we move towards public discussion of policy, which is appropriate but which cannot be done in one Private Member's debate, as much as I welcome it.

In further investment by the State, the school broadband programme began in 2005. A sum of €18 million was committed by both industry and the Government to a three year programme. It has resulted in 99% of schools having a broadband connection. We are working on the last 1% and on a second phase development of the schools broadband programme. This statistic probably does not jump out from the percentage coverage in OECD lists and so forth but it is crucial that we provide the highest quality broadband connectivity to our schools and colleges. It offers a huge opportunity for all parts of our society. One classroom with a high broadband connection allows the 20 or 30 students in the classroom to connect to the worldwide web and all the information it contains. That will not feature in a statistic and will not change an international measure of where we are positioned but it might well change the lives of those students. It is something we must progress with great speed.

The group broadband scheme was another intervention by the State in terms of providing for rural areas where there was no market response to provide broadband connectivity, possibly due to the demographics of the area. Some 127 projects were promoted and progressed under the scheme but ultimately there was a recognition that it was a better solution to provide a complete, ubiquitous broadband availability across the country. For that reason it was decided to opt for a national broadband scheme rather than a group broadband scheme, which was dealing with the issue on an individual project basis.

We must have an honest debate based on reality. Broadband is getting to 1 million households; soon over 1 million Irish households will be connected. There are now six very effective competing platforms and that provides competition between DSL providers, wireless cable companies, mobile telephony companies, satellite companies and fibre optic connections. A range of technological solutions is being developed. In this fast-changing area, where technologies and the speeds that can come from technologies are almost doubling every year to 18 months, the availability of a wide variety of technologies will see progress. Five years ago there were 4,000 broadband customers; today it is almost 1 million. Five years ago we had two mobile telephony providers, today we have five. Three of them are operating in the mobile broadband area, which is not included in the international statistics. However, it is taking off like a rocket in this country because people like that mobility and like the service they can get.

Deputy Simon Coveney

It is also because they cannot get fixed broadband, which is the problem.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

Local loop unbundling is in place. Eircom is advancing plans, which I welcome, to upgrade its network so it can provide higher speeds. Similarly, the cable company UPC announced it intends to spend €300 million upgrading its network, which will help to provide a competitive environment. We have a regulator with real powers and we are starting to see prices come down. Overall, telecommunications prices have come down by 15% since 1997 whereas the CPI has gone up by 45%. That will and should continue because competition should be able to drive prices down. As we use more digital services, as more people go on-line and with integration between communications technologies and the various services provided through them, it is appropriate that competitive pressures should assist in bringing speeds up and prices down.

It is crucial that we be able to get to the real debate, which is what our bandwidth speeds and pricing should be. We need to get beyond the problem of certain parts of the country not having broadband availability. For that reason I am keen to progress, with urgency, the national broadband scheme which provides a mechanism whereby the State can work with industry to ensure service is provided in particular areas where the market is unable to deliver it. We are in the middle of a competitive process, and that is one of the sensitivities in terms of what we can discuss in the debate. We must be careful when we have a competitive auctioning system. Four candidate companies pre-qualified and three companies — Eircom, BT and Hutchinson 3G — are engaged in a competitive tendering process. Basic standards are set out which the company must provide, for example, 1Mbps broadband connection with 48:1 contention ratio.

However, this is not a fixed competitive tendering process. We are looking to companies to ramp up what they can do and be ambitious about what they can provide in future upgrades. That process is due to be completed with a contract signed at the end of June, and the company rolling it out after that. If any areas are not covered, we will return to the issue. Our process is to set out a map of the country, accepting that it can change and that areas may or may not have service depending on whether operators do what they said would do. If an area is not covered by 1 July, it will be included in the scheme. We must have ubiquitous coverage so no part of the country is left behind. Then we will move on to the future challenges.

Future challenges are also opportunities. There is an opportunity to develop new services, such as voice over Internet, telephone services via broadband, video on demand, gaming and a range of public services. We must move towards a new generation network telecommunications system that can provide those services and to do it in a way where supply of bandwidth is ahead of demand. It is difficult to be exact about what speed will be required. The international experience is that it is far from clear which market demand applications will come and in what time that will make the commercial case for broadband speeds. Our broad aim should be to ensure that we at least do not have a restriction on the roll-out of the application. That will require us to have much faster speeds across the country on a wide range basis and in all areas of our society, not just in the areas where people can commercially afford it.

I have no problem with the various measures set out for providing proper ducting. Our policy formulation sets out exactly what are those measures. I disagree with Deputy Coveney who said the motion might be too long; if anything we could go further. However, we cannot set out a complete strategy here within the confines of a Private Member's motion.

Acting Chairman

The Minister has less than one minute.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

The process we are engaging in, which is recognising the reality, having real ambition and engaging in detailed, properly thought-out policy analysis is the right way to go. In the past we have jumped at rash solutions here, maybe often for political gain, but they did not prove to be the right investment decisions. We must, in a fast-changing and complex market, make sure we make the right investments and ensure that the regulatory system is working. There is no lack of ambition on my part. I will work very much on a co-operative basis when it comes down to the specifics of making decisions. I am open to any criticisms or suggestions in terms of how we can do it better. Our amendment simply says that we must recognise what has happened and that we are engaged in a consultative process, this very night, in the international advisory forum. We will then go to public forum, where the paper will be published and it will change and evolve, because this is a fast-moving area.

Deputy Simon Coveney

What is the timescale on that?

Deputy Eamon Ryan

That is what our amendment sets out.

Acting Chairman

Sorry, Minister, but we do not have enough time for that now.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

That is why I am looking for support for it. I look forward to listening to the debate and hearing other Members' views on the matter.

Deputy Liz McManus

I wish to share time with Deputy Martin Ferris tonight, and with Deputies Seán Sherlock and Thomas P. Broughan tomorrow night, with the agreement of the House.

I listened with great interest to the Minister but it seems he has not quite got the point of the Fine Gael motion. I commend Fine Gael on working out a very clear approach to the issue of broadband. It is an old ploy that when one wants to reject something, one says it does not go far enough. That is a chestnut, really. The proposals in the motion are very clear cut. They deal with a range of issues, including setting out targets, ensuring those targets are met, reporting back to the committee, as well as with practical issues like ducting and so forth. It is a comparatively long motion and it is most regrettable that the Minister could not have taken it in the spirit in which it was presented, accepted it and worked in a real spirit of co-operation.

There is absolutely no doubt that broadband is now part of essential infrastructure and is required in any advanced, successful society. Quite apart from its importance in ensuring our economic future, and there has been much emphasis on that tonight, the provision or lack of broadband is an indicator of progress across a range of social, community, educational and health care developments. The fact that we are debating broadband provision in itself is a sorry indicator of a sorry Government record. We pride ourselves as a nation in having a successful and advanced economy but at the same time, the official record is one of a failure to manage the simple roll-out of broadband nationally.

At a time of growing economic pressures and indeed, with a change of Minister, the expectation has been that renewed effort on the part of the Government would bring about a sea change in this area. Had it done so, we would now be talking about next generation networks and how we can keep ahead of our competitors across Europe and the world. Instead, we are still trying to catch up while other countries forge ahead of us.

In 2004, the Government was bragging about Ireland becoming one of the top ten of the OECD states. Today, we lie in 22nd place out of 30 countries and are still talking about the most basic broadband provision. Everybody understands and is delighted to see the increase in take-up. That is very welcome but we still have an enormous gap to make up. We are still foundering, essentially, around the bottom of the EU broadband league. While there has been a steady growth in the penetration of broadband to 16.8% here, a figure from the European league, that is only about half the penetration of Denmark, the Netherlands or the United Kingdom and frankly, it is laughable to hear the Minister claiming that the fact that families in Denmark are smaller explains the difference. That is almost quaint in its approach but it does not convince.

Another statement from the Minister which did not convince was made on "Morning Ireland" two weeks ago when he said that in many instances, we are actually ahead of Northern Ireland. That is hardly the case when one considers that in January 2006, Northern Ireland announced it had achieved 100% broadband penetration. Its population is broadly similar to ours. While I accept that the service may be at low speed, at least it is available.

While access to broadband in Ireland is growing, albeit belatedly, many other countries are pulling far ahead of us. The issue is not simply about access either. It is also about the quality of the service provided, as well as its cost. The problem that we have, which has been raised in this debate, was articulated clearly by the CEO of Forfás, Mr. Martin Cronin, recently, when he said:

We continue to lag other countries in terms of the range of services available and investment in next generation broadband. Ireland needs to future-proof its telecoms infrastructure so that we can deploy Next Generation Networks in a timely fashion, which will mean far greater bandwidth capacity, more efficient networks, lower costs for operators and a wider range of advanced services for enterprise.

That is the challenge. He also went on to warn that we have a very narrow window of opportunity, but one does not detect a sense of urgency from the Minister. In some ways, though, it is a bit difficult because the Minister is making one speech, while his poor old civil servants have put a lot into writing another speech. Sometimes, they do combine but ——

Deputy Eamon Ryan

They are one and the same. Always united.

Deputy Liz McManus

Actually, they are not, but I am not complaining. It makes life interesting but it also complicates matters somewhat. It means that there is quite a lot in the speech that does not go on to the Dáil record.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

It was Deputy McManus's interventions which threw me.

Deputy Liz McManus

I am sorry I do not have much time now. I would be delighted to talk to the Minister further some other time but not just now, in the Chamber.

I have concerns about the Minister's approach in setting up a consultative body. It is very easy to set up bodies in order to delay decisions being made. We now have an international advisory forum. One does not get the sense that this is a "can-do" Minister, who understands that the window of opportunity is narrow, that it is a very competitive climate in which he is operating and that he must focus and get the job done in ways indicated to him by the Fine Gael motion.

We are very far off the goals set out by Forfás. We are still wrestling with the deficiencies of this generation's networks. Despite the pressing need, I recall that the Minister cheerfully hijacked €10 million out of the broadband budget and spent it on insulation and wood pellets, saying that the money would not get spent anyway. Why would it not get spent? That is the question. Surely when the need is so great, there should not have been any money left over in the kitty at the end of the year.

The Minister cannot be unaware of the current problems, difficulties and deficiencies. I represent a mixed, but largely rural, constituency and am receiving a steady little stream of complaints about either lack of access or poor quality service when access is achieved. One of the most heartfelt complaints came from the village of Shillelagh, where there is a Cheshire Home for people with disabilities. I quote from correspondence I received:

The internet connection is a life line, not only for leisure, but for work. Most times the internet connection just cuts off for no apparent reason. It is frustrating to see so much advertising for broadband services but when you ring them it is like hitting a brick wall. The service is not always there to acquire.

I presumed this problem was a rural one until I met a woman from Finglas who told me that broadband basically closes down at 6 p.m. because the system becomes overloaded when people come home from work.

There is an issue in terms of people being simply unable to get access at all. In that context, I welcome the national broadband scheme which should provide for those people who are currently completely out of the loop. However, the scheme is based on the Department's coverage map. According to that map, areas marked in red have broadband connection, but that is not always the case. Anecdotal evidence from around the country of people being unable to access broadband services, even in these red areas, is very real and quite considerable. That is also evident in the parliamentary questions that are being asked of the Minister. Deputy Simon Coveney pinpointed the reason this information is not being reflected by the Department because it is asking the companies rather than the customers. The Minister's answer is always the same, namely, that the provision of broadband services is primarily a matter for the private sector, that broadband service providers operate in a fully liberalised market regulated, where appropriate, by the independent Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, and that those parts of the country where the private sector will be unable to justify the commercial provision will be addressed by the national broadband scheme.

What constitutes quality broadband varies wildly across the country. As to the promised national broadband scheme, I take it it will be set at 1 megabit. However, this represents a fraction of the speeds available elsewhere and a project Eircom is trying in Dublin is far ahead of it.

Acting Chairman

The Deputy has one minute remaining.

Deputy Liz McManus

I wanted to make further points, but I will refer to the matter of the universal service obligation operated by ComReg in terms of narrowband and telephone lines. It seems clear that we need the same type of universal obligation in respect of broadband. I hope it will be possible to ensure the principle of a right of access to good quality broadband is established. Otherwise, our society will constantly have a two-tiered nature and people in particular parts of the country will be at a disadvantage because they will not be able to access broadband as people elsewhere can.

Deputy Martin Ferris

I support the motion, which addresses an increasingly important part of the essential infrastructure of a modern society. While I accept it is the wish and will of every party in the House, it is regrettable that the Government found it necessary not to support the motion as it stands. There is no doubt that broadband connectivity is an essential element in economic success and not just in respect of those areas dependent on high-technology.

The motion is correct in identifying that this country has a relatively poor rate in terms of broadband access internationally. It is a timely reference given that a report issued last week by the European Competitive Telecommunications Association found that Ireland lies 12th of the 15 EU states surveyed in terms of broadband penetration. Only Italy, Portugal and Greece, all of which have much larger land areas and arguably more difficult and mountainous terrain, are behind us. Ireland has a penetration rate of just under 17%, which compares to an average of 20% among the other 15 states included in the study. Unfortunately, this compares to a rate of 34% in Denmark and 25% in Britain. It is important, therefore, in respect of economic growth that the position is improved upon as a matter of urgency.

There are a number of bright spots identified in the report. For example, our ranking improved from 14th last year and Ireland has recently enjoyed the third largest growth rate of the 15 states, although a good proportion of this related to the growth of broadband access through mobile telephone providers rather than the provision of home and business access. Mobile access is not considered by the OECD as an important factor in promoting economic development and most of those with access will at any rate be living in parts of the country with existing access provision.

Another concern highlighted by the ECTA report was the increasing market dominance of the major broadband suppliers. This relates mainly to the fact that, like large private corporations with few competitors, there will be a tendency to use market strength to impose higher costs on consumers, which is a serious concern. There is also the danger that a small number of dominant suppliers will have little incentive to ensure that broadband access is rolled out to those areas in which it is more difficult or costly to supply and access.

Last night in Tralee, I attended a meeting of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association, IRDA. It was attended by people from Clare and other parts of the west coast, but mainly from Kerry. Significant issues that arose during the meeting were depopulation, lack of employment and the decline of traditional industries in rural areas. More alarmingly, it was mentioned that much of the young population is leaving rural Ireland. This would obviously have implications for countries with large rural populations, particularly given that rural penetration by broadband is still low in relative terms. This makes it all the more essential that the State adopts a proactive role in ensuring, as the Government is committed to, that the necessary infrastructure is in place to meet the target of making broadband available to every person.

I return to the matter of access in rural areas. In many parts of my county — north, south and west Kerry — there is no access to broadband, although there may be in the larger built-up areas. This is a significant disincentive to anyone of an entrepreneurial spirit who wishes to become involved in business. I have no doubt that the failure to provide broadband in many parts of the country has been a factor in the failure to attract new investment and in the closure of existing enterprises. For several years, I have been highlighting the failure of the IDA to attract new investment to Kerry to compensate for a steady series of closures and staff lay-offs. In particular, I have pointed to its failure to persuade companies in the technology sector to locate in the county despite the presence in Tralee of an institute of technology and a technology park, two fabulous institutions located in a built-up area in the south-west corner of the country that are not being exploited for the benefit of the people. The delay in the roll-out of broadband to rural and isolated areas is a contributing factor.

While broadband access is available in Tralee and other towns, there are still large parts of the county where this is not the case. Undoubtedly, it has had a negative impact on development in rural Kerry, but has also had a knock on effect on the county overall. I suggest an intimate connection between Kerry having one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and one of the lowest levels of broadband penetration. Some 3,200 people in Tralee are unemployed and nearly 14% of the county's population is unemployed, which is nearly three times the national average. One can make the strong argument that a contributing factor is the lack of the required level of broadband penetration.

It is particularly important that, where small businesses in the more remote and coastal localities need to compensate for their physical location by ease of communications, broadband is made available. It would certainly apply in counties like Kerry, Donegal, Clare, Galway, Mayo and the rest of the western seaboard where newer business enterprises are required to compensate for the loss of more traditional manufacturing. Where surveys were conducted in the United States, Britain and elsewhere, the lack of broadband access was identified as a key drawback to rural businesses. A rural business person I know stated that, without adequate broadband access, it is simply impossible for rural businesses to compete and survive. This statement says it all.

If we are serious about genuine decentralisation and addressing the increasingly lopsided nature of development and the tendency towards urbanisation, rural broadband access must be made a priority as part of the current national broadband scheme. I would like to believe that much of what the Minister referred to will be implemented via the roll-out of broadband, as it would be a considerable statement to people of rural Ireland to the effect that they can maintain their traditional way of life and live in their rural communities. Broadband access is essential and I urge the Minister to pursue it proactively so it will be available to the most isolated areas, those that are most discriminated against in terms of employment creation, making it a little easier for people to survive and compete in their communities.

Debate adjourned.