Fianna Fáil want to deny 46% of homes in Cork North West access to high-speed broadband, Cork North West Fine Gael General Election candidate Councillor John Paul O’Shea has said.
Cllr. O’Shea called on Fianna Fáil to set out what their Broadband Plan B is as they try to put the brakes on the roll out of the National Broadband Plan.
Cllr. O’Shea said: “It is disappointing that the main recommendation of the Oireachtas Communications Committee, which spent four months reviewing the National Broadband Plan, is another review by more consultants.
“Political honesty is needed. We either sign this contract or we don’t. We either deliver broadband to all businesses, farms and households in Cork North West or we don’t.
“The types of changes that the opposition want would require us to cancel the procurement process and start again. That could take five years.
“Fianna Fáil should set out what their Plan B is. We looked at every Plan B, from giving it to the ESB to nationalising Eir.
“No Plan B looked at by the Government could deliver rural broadband faster and cheaper, and in a legally robust way.
“Some 1.1 million citizens in rural Ireland – and 46% of premises in Cork North West – have waited long enough to get the same opportunities as citizens in other towns and cities across the country.”
