€65m to deliver high-speed broadband to Cavan

The Government is to invest €65m to deliver high-speed broadband to Cavan.

The investment is expected to bring high-speed broadband to 16,200 homes across the county.

As an initial step, the Government has published a list of approximately 300 community centres, schools, library hubs and local GAA halls in every county that will be connected to high speed broadband next year.

In Cavan they include: Bunnoe Community Centre; Castlerahan Hall; Cornafean Community Centre; Drumavaddy Community Centre; Killinkere GAA Club; Knocknalosset Orange Order, Canningstown; Maudabawn Cultural Centre; St Patrick's Community Centre, Glangevlin; Castle Saunderson International Scouting Centre; and Templeport Community Centre.

Neighbouring Co Monaghan will receive €40m to bring high-speed broadband 15,125 premises.

The Monaghan community sites to be connected include: Ballybay Development Association; Carn Resource Centre, Smithborough; Cavan And Monaghan Education & Training Board, Tanagh Outdoor Education & Training Centre, Dartrey, Cootehill; Corcaghan Community Centre; Corduff Gaels G.F.C., Carrickmacross; Drum School, Cortober; Drumgossatt National School; Drumhawan Community Centre; Latton Resource Centre; Mullyash Community Centre; Saint Alphonsus Community Hall, Drummully; and Tullycorbet Parish Hall, Corvoy.

The connection is to be delivered under the banner of the much-maligned National Broadband Plan, the Government’s vision to rollout high speed broadband to the 1.1 million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises nationally, including 100,000 businesses and farms, and over 600 schools, where commercial operators will not commit to deliver the service.

The European Commission last Friday (November 15) approved the NBP under State Aid Law, and confirmed that target areas are where no private provider has demonstrated a concrete plan to invest commercially in the near future.

National Broadband Ireland will pass approximately 10,000 premises by the end of 2020. By the end of 2021, National Broadband Ireland plans to pass approximately 115,000 premises. Approximately 70,000-100,000 premises will be passed each year thereafter with the final premises to be completed in 2026.

“This is a landmark day for Monaghan and Cavan and for rural Ireland generally,” said Heather Humphreys, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Fine Gael TD for Cavan Monaghan.

“If it was cheap and easy to deliver high speed broadband up every laneway and bóithrín in this country, then the commercial sector would have done it a long time ago,” the Minister further suggested. “That hasn’t happened, so the Government is intervening to ensure that over one million people in rural Ireland are not treated as second class citizens.

“We are ending the ridiculous situation where some parents actually have to drive their children to the nearest town, so that they can pick up a WIFI signal to do their school project,” she added.

“We are ending what is, at present, a digital divide in this country between those who have broadband and those who do not.

“Yes, this is going to cost money, but if we are serious about regional development then, as a country, we simply cannot afford not to do this.”