I thank the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, for coming in.

I thank the Acting Chairperson. I hope I am allowed the same additional time everyone else has received.

I will not be as generous any more.

There is an issue raising itself across Ireland at the moment. While on the surface it might seem quite minor, in reality, it points to a much deeper failure in how we manage our national infrastructure. Following last year’s storms, communities saw widespread damage to telephone lines. Poles were strained, wires were brought down and networks were disrupted. To their credit, service providers acted quickly. In many cases, lines were restored, connectivity returned and phones and broadband worked again.

That is only half the story, however. Across the countryside today, the physical remains of the damage are still there. Wires have been left hanging across roads and farm entrances or they have dropped into ditches, been caught in hedgerows or left trailing alongside boundaries. Critically, this is not just old copper infrastructure; it includes existing telephone wires. It is not simply a legacy issue but a current operational failure. This is not just storm damage but, rather, the consequences of a system where restoring service is prioritised but restoring the environment is not.

We have to be honest about what has changed. Telecommunication infrastructure in this country is no longer fully publicly owned. It operates through a privatised model. While that model brings efficiency, it also brings incentives. Once the customer has service restored, the job is effectively considered done. There is no immediate commercial driver to remove redundant copper lines, properly secure or re-route poles and wires, clear debris from roadsides and fields or address infrastructure that is no longer active or properly installed but still physically present. What happens is that we fix what is visible on the bill and ignore what is visible on the ground. This is not just untidy and inconvenient; it is often unsafe. Low-hanging cables pose a risk to farmers trying to access land, machinery moving through gateways and pedestrians and road users. With hedge-cutting season and seasonal work approaching, these risks will only increase. People will avoid working near these lines, and rightly so because no one should have to guess whether a cable is live, inactive or improperly installed.

There is, however, a second issue here that is even more concerning, which is that the integrity of the network itself is being put at risk. Where cables are left dragging against trees, loosely installed or poorly tensioned or are exposed to constant movement and weathering, they do not remain harmless. They degrade. Fibre cables in particular are sensitive to bending, strain and repeated stress and some are left sagging or rubbing against branches. We are not just looking at poor workmanship, we are looking at future faults being built into the network. All of this is happening in the context of a broader transition. Ireland is moving from copper to fibre, and that is the right direction, but what we are seeing is a transition that has only been completed halfway. The new network has been rolled out and the old one is being abandoned. In the process, every part of the new one is not being properly secured. This leads to a simple but unavoidable conclusion: we have created a system where there is responsibility for delivering a service but no clear responsibility for the physical condition of the infrastructure delivering it. This does not require a technological solution but it requires a regulatory one. We need a clear obligation to remove redundant infrastructure. We need full clean-up as part of storm recovery, not partial repair. We need proactive inspections, not reliance on individual complaints, and accountability for the physical state of the network and not just whether it works. Infrastructure is not just about connectivity; it is about how the connectivity exists in the real world, in our landscape, our roads and our communities. If we continue as we are we will keep restoring service quickly but we will also continue leaving behind a trail of neglect, one that is unsafe, unsightly and ultimately self-defeating.

I thank Senator Scahill for raising this matter today. Communications infrastructure across the country has seen significant investment of over €5 billion over the last eight years. These investments over that time by both the State and commercial operators ensure that Ireland has access to the latest digital infrastructure, whether that is 5G mobile connectivity or gigabit fibre networks. These investments also ensure that our networks are more resilient than ever before.

Notwithstanding that, Storm Éowyn had an unprecedented impact on telecommunications networks last winter, as the Senator has very clearly outlined in his contribution here. The impact of the sustained power loss during the storm and the delays to repair of overhead lines in some areas afterwards had significant effects on citizens and particularly in rural areas of the north and west. The extensive damage to the electricity network and the consequent loss of mains power had the most significant impact on the telecommunications networks during that storm. Our modern telecoms networks are heavily reliant on electricity for their operation and while services can be maintained for several hours on battery power, the batteries are not designed to cater for power outages of many days. I understand that ESB Networks is undertaking its own resilience programme to mitigate the risk of power outages, which should see significant benefits for the telecoms services.

Nonetheless, the extent of service outages experienced in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn last January has placed renewed focus on how resilient our sector is. The programme for Government reaffirmed our commitment to investing in the State's telecommunications networks. The programme sets a target for the completion of the high-speed fibre network to provide broadband access to 1.1 million people, including homes, farms and businesses nationwide by the end of this year. To date, the total amount invested by the State in the national broadband programme since 2020, when the national broadband plan network roll-out commenced, is €1.152 billion. As part of the network roll-out, a comprehensive programme has been undertaken to assess and, where necessary, replace poles used to carry the overhead fibre network. This programme has seen over 1.1 million poles stress tested to date and replaced where necessary.

In addition to the State's significant investment in gigabit fibre networks, the commercial operators have also been investing heavily in their networks over the last number of years. Mobile and fixed-network operators have invested in improving their networks and targeting resilience measures such as increased use of underground ducting, installing additional on-site backup batteries, and making 1,700 power generators available. Since January 2025, when Storm Éowyn exposed the inability of the networks to withstand sustained power outages, operators have focused new additional investments on improving power resilience at key sites. This has involved putting in larger batteries and making more sites ready for mobile power generators in the event of longer power outages.

Beyond investments, my Department continues to engage with industry through the telecommunications response and resilience group, which was established last September to improve the physical and power resilience of networks, co-ordinate and communicate more effectively during emergencies and prioritise key infrastructure to provide minimum levels of connectivity during emergencies.

One of the first key outputs form this group has been the identification of a list of key mobile sites that are being prioritised for resilience and restoration measures. In the event of a future storm, once these sites are restored or kept on air, a basic level of connectivity is maintained across the country. This idea was first suggested in a meeting that was convened by the Minister with industry in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn last year and I am glad that it is progressing.

The group met again just last week to discuss progress and to set out its plans for this year. I understand it will focus on matters related to mitigating the risk of trees or branches falling and damaging the infrastructure and other fixed network priorities.

Our recent work to improve resilience is set against a wider effort to improve resilience and preparedness more generally across many aspects of society. The legislative framework for the resilience of critical infrastructure across all sectors is undergoing significant change this year. This will have a positive impact on telecommunication networks.

The second EU networks and information systems directive and the EU critical entities resilience directive are two directives that are in the process of being transposed and implemented by the Departments of justice and Defence, respectively. Together, they will regulate minimum standards for the resilience, risk and incident management of entities in the cyber and physical space under the supervision of national competent authorities. Taken together, these measures will set out a process for operators to systematically identify other potential vulnerabilities to severe weather events in their critical infrastructures that will allow for the targeting of their future investments in resilience.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome the investment in this infrastructure and I know what we are trying to do. However, there is the reality on the ground. As I drive around the Roscommon-Galway constituency, I see areas in Fairymount where 500 m of cable are hanging down at the side of the road. I drive to Lisalway, heading out to Castleplunkett, and see the same thing. I have been up in County Donegal and when one drives to places such as Carndonagh, one is not oblivious to these cables hanging down as the side of the road. Somebody needs to be held responsible. Just because the service is being delivered to individuals at the moment, it does not mean it is right to leave these cables hanging along the roadsides. Something needs to be done. We need inspections on the ground. We need it tensioned up.

There is also a safety issue as we come into the verge cutting season. I am worried about that. It might put the service in jeopardy.

Just last week, I spoke to a lady in her early 80s. She said she has reported the issue to the phone provider numerous times but is still not getting a service. She is still paying for her service because she presumes the provider will look after her once the service is restored. Many of these private companies will not address the issue and will not look at tidying up because the standing orders are still coming in. That is where we have to take responsibility and be the ones to press those providers and ensure they are doing the work.

Deputy Cathal Crowe was in the viewing Gallery a moment ago. He will be experiencing the same thing in Clare. It is happening all across rural Ireland. It is a matter we must look at.

I thank the Senator. I will certainly ask my officials to come back to him on the point he has raised. We must ensure that where wires are in an unsafe position, the companies responsible engage, take action and ensure they are made safe. There is significant work happening at the moment to road test and stress-test our networks. We are stress-testing poles. I outlined earlier that 1.1 million poles have been stress tested and many have been replaced where they were found to be unsuitable. It is crucial for that work to continue. In instances where wires are hanging low and in a dangerous position, it is crucial that they are addressed immediately.

I will also relate to my officials instances where people are being charged. I will ask them to engage further with the Senator on that matter. I thank him for raising the issue.