Mayo jobs under serious threat due to ongoing broadband delays
A Mayo TD is rapidly losing confidence in the roll-out of the national broadband plan.
Deputy Dara Calleary said there is a community in east Mayo that is very entrepreneurial but also has many families living in it.
He elaborated: "Within this community there are three home-grown companies that export internationally.
"We have been working with NBI for some time to try to get a sense of when a fibre connection will go into these companies and into the community.
"This community recently lost all its banking services so we are told to do that online as well as access all government services through gov.ie.
"NBI came back and told us it will be done between January 2025 and December 2026.
"That is not a window; that is a conservatory. That shows a lack of ambition.
"I am concerned we are in the the last week of January and we do not have a sense of what connections will happen in 2022.
"The Covid excuse has to finish now. NBI keeps telling us it is working on the ground and we keep getting emails saying it is in our area, but the reality for this community is that jobs could be lost.
"One company wants to invest in an enterprise resource planning, ERP, system, which is a state-of-the-art technical system, and has a major investment plan but cannot do that because it cannot even get an interaction with National Broadband Ireland about its service.
"The complaint of this community is replicated across Mayo. Businesses are struggling nationwide.
"There is also an issue whereby, because this community is in an NBI area, even though there is an Eir cable going through the community and along the road, it cannot be connected because NBI might get to it in a two-year window between 2025 and 2026.
"What urgency is there? In the context of the government's plans around remote broadband hubs and remote working, has the Minister engaged with NBI about putting more urgency into this delivery?
"Instead of getting so much spin and so much material, can we start to challenge NBI on what it is delivering on the ground?"
Senator Paddy Burke said he shared similar concerns in respect of long-established businesses in Castlebar.
He explained: "Main Street and the main shopping area of the town is suffering the most from poor broadband.
"The result that businesses have to move from the centre of the town to the industrial estates to get proper broadband because the speeds there are better. Something will have to be done fairly fast about it.
"A number of very successful businesses have started up online in the last number of years such as Vaughan Shoes, Stauntons Pharmacy and our local newspaper, The Connaught Telegraph.
"They all operate online and are at a huge disadvantage because of the speeds at the moment.
"The quicker they can get this in place, the better for their businesses. They are not competing on a level playing pitch at the moment.
"They are competing with businesses that are living on the information highway while they are on the byroads. That is the way it is.
"The government must keep the pressure on to keep the milestones up to date and make sure the contractors that are in place deliver on what they are supposed to, and, if they can deliver it ahead of time, all the better."