1 Jul 2014, 13:33
The Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte TD will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications to consider Ireland’s national broadband strategy.
1 July 2014
Minister Rabbitte will brief the Committee on the document Delivering a Connected Society: A National Broadband Plan for Ireland. The strategy commits to making high speed quality broadband available across the country in the lifetime of the current government.
Chairman of the Committee John O’Mahony TD says: “Ireland ranks mid-table among the EU’s 28 Member States on the delivery of high speed broadband. There is a direct correlation between high speed broadband and indigenous and foreign direct investment and it is imperative that Ireland moves towards the top of the table in the coming years, despite the barriers posed by our relatively dispersed population. Tomorrow’s meeting will provide an opportunity to engage with Minister Rabbitte on the ambitious proposals to deliver high quality broadband to every corner of the country.”
\"While the major urban centres are broadly speaking well connected at the moment, the major challenges lie in delivering high speed broadband for smaller urban and rural areas where half our citizens reside. As well as the obvious economic benefits, the Committee is also acutely aware of social and environmental advantages of broadband for communities throughout Ireland, such as enhancing access to government services such as education and health and curbing greenhouse gases by using the latest communication technologies as a substitute for travel. The Committee will engage with Minister Rabbitte on the extent to which the National Broadband Plan will deliver the framework necessary to ensure the delivery of high quality, high speed broadband infrastructure to all homes and businesses across the country.”
The meeting takes place tomorrow Wednesday 2 July at 9:30 am in Committee Room 4, LH 2000. The meeting can be viewed online here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
ENDS
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Committee on Transport and Communications
Deputies: John O’Mahony (Chair), Paudie Coffey (Vice-Chair), Michael Colreavy, Timmy Dooley, Dessie Ellis, Tom Fleming, Brendan Griffin, Noel Harrington, Seán Kenny, Éamonn Maloney, Helen McEntee, Michael Moynihan, Patrick O’Donovan, Ann Phelan and Mick Wallace
Senators: Sean D. Barrett, Terry Brennan, Éamonn Coghlan, Paschal Mooney, Ned O’Sullivan and John Whelan