Mattie McGrath criticises local media closures and broadband failures

Minister, I want to begin by showing my gratitude for our local media, radio and newspapers and other correspondence, communities in rural Ireland depend on these, especially during this difficult period in the isolated areas. Information through the airwaves by Tip FM and Tip Midwest are a lifeline to many of those people and I really hope that it will get adequate support and the local papers as well from people as well as from the government. We know that the businesses do not have the type of additional income to give them at the moment. I must express my sincere disappointment with iconic newspapers and their owner Malcolm Denmark and his appalling treatment of hardworking journalists, staff journalists and local correspondents. Deputy Lowry referred to it as well, Minister, this is unbelievable, but it's modern Ireland, big business and that's why I'm worried of this so-called pandemic and this pandemic because it's a scam for big businesses. This is happening before this ever happened at all. Minister, this man has just destroyed the local papers, doesn't care about them and he paid himself 3.1 million last year now, handsomely, yet staff haven't got a wage increase since 2008 and benefits like maternity leave and sick leave all admonished. It's just reckless riding roadshot over good, decent, hardworking journalists who have families and who have served the communities well for decades. And make it all, insult the injury minister. He's claiming the COVID payment for it to pay his staff, even though the business was profitable. And he's not interested in the race there, the nationalists on the Midland Tribune, other many other papers, right up as far as Deputy Pringle's constituency in Donegal, Democrat, I think. So it's outrageous what you've allowed happen, but it happened across the beef industry, it's happened with the broadband contract, it's everywhere minister. So it's Fine Gael policy, obviously, to look at, let these big business people do what they like, to whom they like, talk about the regulatory, you might as well talk about Santy Claus or something like that, because they don't care about regulation. They just, the way he's treated those titles, they've served the counties for decades, for centuries some of them, and some excellent journalists. There's now, four were left go on the nationalists and four in the tips there, expecting two then or three to do the work that seven or eight were doing, and driving them like that, and no respect. You have to respect your work as minister. Minister, I have questions on broadband, and they are, minister, getting complaints regarding air also, minister. The air now is a lot worse than it was 20 years ago. I remember when Albert Reynolds waved the phone at the Fianna Fáil Audit, I was there proudly that he'd have a phone and everybody in a month. Now it would take three and four and five, six months for an older person to get a phone repaired. It's disgusting what has happened. Minister, can your department please provide specific details of the deployment of fibre broadband in County Tipperary, and how many properties in Tipperary were supplied with broadband in 2020 to date, and how many properties in County Tipperary will be supplied with broadband from now until the end of 2020. When will the deployment plan be made available, the national broadband plan minister? There are more questions about this minister, there are more announcements than this, than I had hot dinners. And then the people have them, the farmers, students, you name it. People walking from their home to allow children to access their school, their school work, or teachers in, to be able to liaise with them. And a farmer to fill out his application forms, or the students for the CEO forms. It's a necessary tool now, and we will be gathered in rural Ireland. What is most frustrating for people when they realise that they are located maybe a hundred yards or more from the properties that are in the blue area, and they are located a few hundred yards through a broadband connection point, but still cannot get connected, and can get no answers. Another issue that needs to be addressed, as I said, is their customers. Minister, SAEI, again, under your watch, you have loads of money for a huge application taken up, but you haven't money. And the contractors haven't been paid, and they can't say a word because they have the hand inside the dog's mouth. And that dog bites, if you say something. But minister, I have a contractor recently contacted me, who came off the payment, go back to work, and he wasn't allowed to go back to work. And the simple reason, I believe, is it's not a scam, because you don't have the money to pay him. It's nothing to do, he's working on sites on his own, maybe one other person, on a building, and it's the fact that you have the money to pay him. So minister, a lot has happened in our mother island, dear mother island, is nearly with O'Leary in the grave. But I tell you what, with finagade policy, and now we're cobbling the government again, with finagade and others, to try and make sure the big business survive. And they thrive, and they don't want to survive at all, they want to thrive, but they want to stand and walk on workers, on people, on small businesses, on companies. And David Lowry mentioned the condomerates, but he didn't mention anything about the condomerates of the racing industry that we have in Tipperary, which I support the racing industry totally. But what about the condomerates of buying up all the land, gobbling every past land that can be bought in Tipperary and beyond. And there are more equine industries, and you can't criticise them either. You'll be banished to hell out of the Connacht. The new god nearly in places. But it's time that we retaught our whole situation regarding the pandemic minister, and left Ireland live again, left Ireland operate again. Open up our churches, let people go to worship, whatever faith they want to worship, and change this situation with the two metre rule. It's cods wallop at this stage. We criticise Hungary here for what they've done. We should take a leave out of Hungary's book and see how they dealt with the pandemic. I don't think Minister Bruton has responsibility for the blood stock industry yet. Yes. What do you want? Yes. Great question. Thank you. And then I can talk to you later on that. It's more powerful than the conflict that we eat there as Tom Chiller said. Thank you. Great.