*Joe Carey. Photograph: Yvonne Vaughan Photography
Clare’s thirteen Fianna Fáil councillors will come under pressure to back the Government’s National Broadband Plan, Deputy Joe Carey (FG) has stated.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, the TD outlined that the eight Fine Gael councillors will ask their Fianna Fáil counterparts to back a motion in support of the plan.
Deputy Carey questioned the moves by Fianna Fáil leadership regarding the Plan which will be delivered by Granahan McCourt, a company owned and founded by Newmarket-on-Fergus resident David McCourt. “When the contract was signed by Government, Fianna Fáil’s leadership quietly dropped their bizarre opposition to the most significant investment in rural Ireland in decades. The rollout of rural broadband will bring equality of opportunity to all, but Fianna Fáil and their reckless politicking wanted to stop it”.
He added, “The signing of the broadband contract by the Government was a landmark day for Clare and for rural Ireland generally. The National Broadband Plan, which will see investment of €89 million to deliver high-speed broadband to 22,342 homes and businesses throughout County Clare.
“Will Fianna Fáil councillors continue to hold the party line on this? Will they continue to show people that Fianna Fáil has gotten so tangled up in their pursuit of support in Dublin that they don’t really care about investing in rural Ireland. We have seen total incoherence on this subject from Fianna Fáil’s leadership: they wanted broadband but not the National Broadband Plan. They had no plan to deliver broadband but insisted that its delivery was a priority.
“Maybe their councillors here in Clare can clear up just where the party stand on delivering broadband. They’ll get the opportunity in the next couple weeks. The significance of the National Broadband Plan cannot be overstated. It will transform lives for people here in Clare changing how people work, how they learn and how they access services. Where appropriate it will change how they access health services, and how they farm,” the Clarecastle representative added.
