Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan has requested the Oireachtas Communications Committee to review the success of the National Broadband Scheme in delivering broadband to rural areas which are experiencing difficulties in obtaining a service. The service which had a fixed term comes to a conclusion at the end of August after a State investment which was capped at almost €80million.
“Since entering the Dáil I have been raising the issue of good quality broadband for places like rural Co. Limerick. I believe that recent Government initiatives which will see high speed broadband being delivered to every second level school in the country, together with recent changes to the Law that will allow ESB to provide fibre optic cables on their existing poles and delivery high speed broadband directly to the customer are welcome. Many of the problems we have in getting high speed broadband to our communities can be traced back to bad decisions in the telecommunications sector, but we now need to make sure that businesses, individuals and communities are not disadvantaged any further.”
“Former Minister Pat Rabbitte recently launched a €500million National Broadband Plan to bring good quality connections to communities across the country. We need to ensure that those areas which as yet have not seen the infrastructure delivered are prioritised to ensure that jobs can be retained and created there. I believe that the Oireachtas Committee has a role in ensuring that progress is maintained and that time frames are met and I intend pursuing this.”
Patrick O’Donovan said he had written to the Chairman of Oireachtas Communications Committee, John O’Mahony asking that the new Minister for Communications Alex White come before the Committee together with representatives of the broadband providers and the users to prioritise the future of the service. He said he welcomed the decision of the Government to prioritise rural broadband in the renewed Programme for Government saying “Access to good broadband is every bit as important as access to a clean safe water supply, and it will continue to be a priority of mine to ensure that places like rural Co. Limerick continue to be prioritised.”