Fine Gael TD Naoise Ó Muirí has said that a number of Dublin communities are still waiting for access to reliable high-speed broadband.
The National Broadband Plan has been expanded across Ireland, connecting areas that were previously unable to connect to high-speed broadband, but the Dublin Bay North TD has said that some areas are being left behind.
“The NBP has undoubtedly been a success for many parts of the country, with hundreds of thousands of premises now passed, but there growing concerns among residents in parts of Dublin that they are still unable to access high-speed broadband,” he said.
“I am increasingly hearing from households across north Dublin who have been classified as living in ‘BLUE’ areas, where commercial operators are expected to provide broadband services, but who remain unable to access a high-speed connection. This view was reinforced by last week’s report from ComReg, which found that rural counties now outperform urban ones for availability of the highest-speed broadband services,” he said.
“Gigabit broadband coverage across Dublin currently stands at 80%, with some communities falling well below that average. In Howth, for example, coverage is just 69%, compared to almost 96% in Westmeath,” Ó Muirí noted.
“These pockets of North Dublin are effectively years behind the rest of the constituency when it comes to access to high-speed broadband,” he said.
Ó Murí said, “in many cases, residents are being told that a broadband connection is not currently available to them and that no clear timeline exists for when it will become available, with ongoing delivery slippage.”
“At the same time, households located in nearby ‘AMBER’ areas, which are covered under the National Broadband Plan, are benefiting from state-supported high-speed broadband rollout.
“This has created a situation where one family is left waiting indefinitely for a commercial solution, while a household only down the road can avail of government support and receive a connection much sooner,” he explained.
“This is neither fair nor sensible. As hybrid working becomes more viable for families, it is not acceptable that some homes continue to be left behind through no fault of their own.
The Fine Gael TD said, “the success of the NBP in rural communities across the country must be replicated in more remote parts of Dublin too.”
“The Department must formulate a clear delivery plan to close the gap facing households that are stranded between commercial rollout commitments and NBP eligibility.”
“No community should be left waiting indefinitely for a service that has become a basic necessity in modern life,” he said.