I welcome this opportunity to contribute to this debate. When I submitted this Topical Issue this morning, I was not aware that the Minister was taking questions today. I understand that similar questions have been posed by some of my party colleagues and other Members. That is a clear indication of how serious the lack of broadband provision in rural areas is. I know the Minister is coming fresh to the Department and I genuinely wish him well in his role.
The previous programme for Government promised to provide 95% of houses and businesses with broadband by 2015. The current programme for Government promises to have 750,000 additional homes and businesses provided with broadband by 2020. In his reply to a priority question earlier, the Minister alluded to aspiring to reach that target. I have a great fear that target will not be reached. The digital health index for Ireland was published today. A study found that one in four Irish SMEs has no digital presence. A quarter of the firms surveyed stated that inadequate broadband infrastructure was a reason for them being offline.
If we are serious about supporting our SMEs and job creation in the regions outside the capital, we must put in place the necessary infrastructure. A business such as Mr. Crumb in Castletown, Finea employs 100 people and has no proper broadband. When the owner of that business has to send big documents electronically he needs to go into the Mullingar Park Hotel to avail of its broadband.
Green Farm Foods in Rathowen is another business in my constituency employing in excess of 130 people. It has poor-quality broadband and it is paying through the nose. In my village, I have satellite broadband. When it rains, it does not work. When it rains, I cannot even send a WhatsApp message or a Telegram message because it does not work. Having a satellite broadband service that does not work when it rains is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
Will this Government, unlike its predecessor, live up to its commitment in this area? Will it ensure adequate broadband services are rolled out throughout rural Ireland in the not too distant future? When my three constituency colleagues and I recently attended a meeting with the Longford business community at the Longford Arms Hotel, a Deputy who supports the Government allayed the fears of local business people by telling them not to worry and assuring them that they will have broadband within six months. While I hope he is right, I suspect on the basis of the reports emanating from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources that he is not, given that the tender will not be issued to the preferred contractor until June 2017 at the earliest. Perhaps the Minister will give me a clear indication of what exactly he intends to do to ensure the people of Ireland do not have to wait a further four years for broadband services and the commitment in this regard to which he signed up in the programme for Government will be delivered. The commitment that was given in the last programme for Government was not delivered. It was reneged on.