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Irish Independent
17-07-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Cork's roads left in 'appalling state' by utility companies
At this week's meeting of the council, Cllr Deirdre O'Brien put down a motion calling on the local authority to write to utility providers and service contractors, expressing dissatisfaction with the quality of reinstatement works on the county's roads. Cllr O'Brien said that the works 'are nothing short of appalling in places.' She described Uisce Éireann as 'the bane of our lives', while Eir and National Broadband Ireland 'are just absolutely appalling, the mess they're leaving after them'. The Fermoy councillor said the reinstatement works are often substandard, poorly finished and 'in many cases an outright hazard'. "Lumps of tar literally thrown around, potholes, dykes pulled out and, in some cases, trees cut into limbs left in drains, which leads to blocking the drains later on.' She said the work 'compromises the structural integrity of our roads, it accelerates deterioration, it poses risks to our drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, and shows disregard for the public realm that we all share a duty to protect'. There was widespread agreement among the other councillors present. Cllr Dominic Finn said that if contractors 'can get away with it, they'll chance it and they'll leave some of the reinstatement of the verges and the roads not done'. Cllr Sheila O'Callaghan said that the main street in Watergrasshill 'had 50 shades of grey from all the different people who had hacked at it and laid different surfaces, which makes it very unsightly'. In North Cork there are so many roads that had been looked after by our engineers and then wrecked by some other agency that has come in and left them in an appalling state,' said Cllr Kay Dawson. 'In Carrigaline we're waiting over 18 months for Irish Water to come back into an estate to patch up an area they took up' while Cllr Audrey Buckley said she's been waiting over four years for Eir to fix inspection covers on a footpath in Crosshaven that's part of the Safe Routes to School scheme,' Cllr Patrick Donovan added. Cork County Council Divisional Manager Niall Healy told the meeting that the local authority received over 5,000 applications for road opening licences last year. Uisce Éireann made up over 60 per cent, Eir 17 per cent, National Broadband Ireland 14 per cent and the remainder were ESB Networks and private contractors. He said that the conditions included within the licence require that the road be reinstated to the standard in which it was before the works were carried out. 'There are two issues that we monitor very closely. One is the timeliness, the other is the quality of the work that's carried out. 'We've had an issue with Uisce Éireann over the last two to three years where temporary reinstatements were being done, but they weren't being followed through with permanent reinstatements. So there was a legacy backlog right across the county in relation to Uisce ireann works,' he continued. Mr Healy added that the council has had several meetings with the national water utility and the situation has 'improved enormously'. "You may have seen blitzes by Uisce Eireann across the county where they've moved into particular geographic areas and they've done a lot of permanent reinstatements.' He concluded that the situation 'should be an improving one' but having the council is conscious that there are issues out there and they are being monitored. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Irish Examiner
11-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Colin Sheridan: Better late than never for Achill's broadband lifeline
A win is a win. They don't ask you how. You're only as good as your last €2.5bn project. Sporting metaphors usually help capture the mood of political triumphs, and sure enough, in Keel Community Centre on Achill Island, the hall had the air of a dressing room after an All-Ireland win. Announcing the roll-out of fibre broadband across Ireland's largest island, minister for culture Patrick O'Donovan spoke with the confidence of a manager who'd been doubted more times than the wifi signal in the back bedroom. 'WE SHOWED THEM' was the tenor of much of his speech. By the fifth time he said it, the polite nods of locals had turned to even politer sighs. Credit where it's due: The Government doesn't get many slam-dunks these days. Connecting the people of Achill with the rest of the world was a rare one. Smoke 'em if you got 'em, I guess. David McCourt and TJ Malone of National Broadband Ireland with culture minister Patrick O'Donovan on Keel Beach, Achill Island. Picture: Michael McLaughlin Here are the stats: 'Main build works on the island infrastructure are now complete, enabling over 2,500 homes, farms and businesses to access high-speed broadband. 'This means residents of Ireland's largest island will have the same access to 2 Gig, reliable broadband as any of the over 380,000 premises that NBI has already passed across the country.' In plain English, Achill got mail. Affordable broadband Homes, farms, schools, and businesses now have the option of affordable, high-speed broadband. No longer will baristas need to raise a debit card reader skyward to execute a simple payment for a routine skinny flat white. Gone are the days of sketchy GAA Go streams. I mean, sure, if only there were a Mayo match to watch — but all jokes aside, broadband means opportunity. In an age of remote working, you're only as good as your download speed. It being a launch, there was a launch video. And if you're going to launch a launch video, launch it in Achill. Aerial shots of Keel, Keem, the Famine Village, gorgeous white beaches and roaring blue seas. Circet managing director (Ireland) Damien Gallagher; National Broadband Ireland stakeholder engagement and PR manager Sandra Dinan; House of Achill founder Anna Sutcliffe; and National Broadband Ireland chief marketing officer Tara Collins. Picture: Michael McLaughlin Christ, after three minutes of drone footage of the Wild Atlantic Way, a man would nearly fall to his knees and plead with the people of Achill — a beautiful outlier of an island — to run the opposite way from all internet connectivity. I've seen the best minds of my generation ruined by Twitter scrolling. Be brave, Achill. Do without it. But that's not fair. It's selective and a bit elitist. Island has to be connected Listening to Anna Sutcliffe, purveyor of luxury candles through her company House of Achill, you realise that for rural Ireland to survive and thrive, it absolutely has to be connected. For young people to have a chance to stay, to move home if they left. To begin again, like Anna, if they chose to relocate and try something new. 'Traditionally on the island, we were very dependent on the tourism season,' Anna explains. Now with fibre, I finally have a fast, reliable connection to support online sales and ensure customer service year-round. I can focus on what I enjoy most about the business — being creative. No arguments here. Other small business owners echoed similar relief at the arrival of fibre. Lilí Bán Café proprietor John Barrett nails a simple truth: 'Running a business on Achill Island has its challenges. Without broadband, the weather often impacted the signal and the reliability of the connection. "It's exciting to see a new wave of business starting on the island, and fibre connectivity has definitely played a big part in this.' Central to the Great Connection was adopted Clare man David McCourt, founder and chairman of National Broadband Ireland — a man with a voice so smooth you could stream Squid Game off it. When he addressed the hall, the vibe was less 'we showed them,' more 'you showed yourselves'. If I'd closed my eyes, I could've sworn I was at a town hall meeting in a Steinbeck novel. Remote but close Achill, a frontier town in the New West during the gold rush, suddenly connected, with the world their oyster. But here's the thing: Achill, though remote, is two hours from Galway. Three hours and change from Dublin, our capital city. It's hardly Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories. Standing there in that community centre, I couldn't help getting swept up in the wave of goodwill and opportunity the Government will justifiably celebrate. But as a man who turned turf as a boy just an hour down the road, I couldn't help thinking of Edwin McGreal writing recently in The Western People: 'In terms of infrastructural development, the Northern Western Region [Connacht plus Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan] is ranked an alarming 218th out of 234 regions across Europe. Our Midlands and Eastern Region scores over three times higher for infrastructural development. In 2022, the European Commission downgraded us [the Northwest Region] to a 'lagging region' when our GDP fell to 71% of the European average. The focus ought to be diverted here — and fast. No One Shouted Stop was published by John Healy 57 years ago — a wolf-whistle lamenting the economic and social decline of rural life in the west of Ireland, and Dublin's wilful ignorance of it. There was no broadband in 1968, and the only fibre in Mayo came from All-Bran. That the Government finally delivered on a single promise is good. But it's the least they could do.
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
National Broadband Ireland CEO steps down amid reshuffle of leadership team
The chief executive of National Broadband Ireland (NBI), which is delivering internet services to rural parts of the country under a Government contract, is stepping down after six years in the role. Peter Hendrick, who has served as NBI's CEO since its inception and was a founding shareholder, will be replaced by TJ Malone, who has led the survey, design and build of NBI's network since the project commenced. Mr Hendrick will remain with NBI as a non-executive director and a shareholder. As CEO, Mr Malone will oversee the completion of the roll-out of its broadband network and the long-term operation of the business. READ MORE Staff at NBI were informed of the leadership changes on Wednesday. The changes take effect immediately. [ National broadband plan to require additional €80m Opens in new window ] According to NBI, more than two thirds (about 400,000) of the premises in the Government's intervention area are now available for connection, with the balance to be completed during 2026. NBI has said that it has connected 135,000 customers to its high-speed, fibre network. Mr Malone's role as CEO of NBI deployment will be filled by Jenny Fisher, who has held the role of chief legal and administration officer. Sara Lynn has been promoted to the role of chief legal officer, having worked in the business since 2020, most recently as NBI's head of legal. NBI was awarded the contract to deliver Ireland's national broadband plan in 2019. In February, The Irish Times reported that the Government would be asked to provide an additional €80 million this year to the national broadband plan . Some €978 million of subsidy has been paid to NBI to date under the national broadband plan contract. Commenting on the leadership changes, David McCourt, co-founder and chairman of NBI, said: 'As we continue to make great strides in the final stages of our roll-out and prepare to operate our world-class national network for the next 25 years and beyond, we're delighted to be providing fresh opportunities for people who have made and continue to make this project a success to date.'
Irish Independent
24-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Revealed – the latest rural Galway areas to get fibre broadband
There are 1,171 Galway premises in the Maam deployment area that can join the NBI network. The area includes the rural surrounds and townlands of An Fhairche (Clonbur), Letterbreckaun and Leitir Feoir (Letterfore). National Broadband Ireland is calling on people living nearby to check online to see if they are ready to connect. 40,000 premises in County Galway are included in the State's Intervention Area, which will see NBI deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms, and schools. Galway will receive €153m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan. Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: 'We are delighted to announce that almost 1,200 Galway premises in the Maam deployment area can now order high-speed broadband services through the NBI network. This will enable those who connect to experience the life-changing benefits of high-speed broadband with minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second. 'Overall, over 26,600 homes, businesses and farms in Co Galway can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the NBI network. This includes over 2,500 premises near Ballinasloe, over 2,600 near Athenry and over 3,700 in the rural surrounds of Galway City. We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Galway residents to visit the NBI website to check their Eircode and sign up for updates.'
Agriland
03-06-2025
- Business
- Agriland
40,000 farms now able to access high-speed fibre broadband
National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company delivering the government's National Broadband Plan (NBP), has announced that more than 40,000 farms can now access high-speed fibre broadband with over 17,000 already connected. Take-up among farms stands at 42.5%, trending significantly higher than the national average of 35%. In total, almost 65,000 farms will have access to high-speed fibre broadband through the National Broadband Plan. This milestone comes as NBI recently announced that more than two thirds of the premises included in its rollout area have now been passed with over 367,000 homes, farms and businesses across the country now able to access high-speed fibre broadband. To date, over 129,000 premises across the country have connected to the NBI Network, with take-up exceeding 60% in areas that were among the first to go live. Chief executive officer (CEO), National Broadband Ireland, Peter Hendrick said: 'We're proud to see such strong adoption of high-speed broadband among the farming community. 'With two in every five farms connected to the NBI Network, the uptake reflects the growing importance of digital tools and services in modern farming. 'A high-speed fibre connection is now an everyday essential for farmers and farm families across Ireland. 'Access to fibre broadband unlocks limitless opportunities and allows farmers to adopt new technologies to increase productivity, profitability and sustainability,' he added. The NBI representative said that rural communities should have access to the same benefits as urban areas – the same entertainment, work-from-home opportunities, and educational resources. 'We encourage farmers and everyone living in rural Ireland to check their Eircode on the NBI website and see if they can get connected today,' he continued. As a wholesale network operator, NBI does not sell fibre broadband directly to end users, rather it enables services from a range of broadband providers or retail service providers (RSPs). As a wholesale provider, NBI will make the new fibre-to-the-home network available to all RSPs operating in their rollout area. The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. NBI will be responsible for the management of the new national broadband network for at least the next 25 years.
