‘Budget fails rural Kerry on broadband’

JUST €5 MILLION BUDGETED FOR NATIONAL BROADBAND ROLL-OUT

RURAL hopes of achieving high-speed broadband in the near future have been dashed by a budget of such paltry provision for the technology that it will likely now be in 2023 before the initial targets for 2015 under the National Broadband Scheme are realised.

That’s according to Kerry Fianna Fáil TD John Brassil who reacted with sharp criticism to Finance Minister Michael Noonan’s 2017 budget - at least in the area of broadband .

The target of achieving high-speed broadband for 85 per cent of premises by 2018/’19 – set down as a key part of the programme for Government – is nowhere near being attained and the ‘paltry’ €5 million set aside under budget 2017 for National Broadband tendering next year will only serve to delay delivery by many more years according to Deputy Brassil.

“When it was first announced, we were told that 90 per cent of homes and businesses would have high speed broadband by the end of 2015. That was then pushed out to 85 per cent by 2019 before a revised target of 100 per cent by 2022 was floated. Now it looks as if it will be 2023 before the plan is realised,” he said.

“Last week’s budget announcement included a paltry €5 million to go towards the tendering process in 2017 for the National Broadband Scheme. Five million euro won’t help claw back the massive delays in the scheme. We’re already eight years behind the original 2015 target, and even in the last few weeks, we have heard that more delays may be coming down the tracks.”

Deputy Brassil said he has ‘no faith’ in the Government his party is loosely backing to roll-out the scheme: “While I accept that the Department and the Minister believe that broadband for rural communities is a good idea, I really have no faith in their ability to roll out the scheme.” The delays are ultimately ‘stymying jobs and investment’ in rural Kerry, he warned.