The lack of broadband telecommunications infrastructure in the western region will be highlighted next week at a meeting between the Western Development Commission and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Enterprise and Transport.
Broadband facilities are seen as vital if the west is to attract high-tech industry. But the region north of Galway and west of the Shannon is very poorly served.
Most of the IT companies in the west have tended to locate in Galway. The Western Development Commission is arguing that immediate investment in broadband facilities is needed in rural towns.
"All of the towns in the region, with the exception of Galway, have only 34 Mbit access compared to 155 Mbit access for most towns in the south and east of the country," Mr Tony Brennan of the WDC said.
The Western Development Commission will make the case at next week's meeting that investment in both business and residential broadband local access is needed to reduce problems caused by the region's peripheral location and to keep up with the rest of the State.