Over 29,600 Tipperary homes to benefit from high speed broadband in new plan

The government's €3billion national broadband scheme approved on Tuesday will see €118m invested in Tipperary to deliver high speed broadband to 29,647 homes in the county.

Ten locations have been identified in the county that will be connected during 2020 to enable communities to quickly get free public access to high speed broadband.

These extend from Poulacapple in the south of the county to Aglish near Roscrea in the north.

Mayor of  Clonmel Garret Ahearn has described the announcement as a landmark day for Tipperary.

The plan is to to rollout high speed broadband to the 1.1million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises nationally, including 100,000 businesses and farms, and over 600 schools, where commercial operators will not commit to deliver the service.

Mayor Ahearn said the work will start immediately, with roll-out of broadband within eight weeks of the contract signing. 

Over 90% of premises in the State will have access to high speed broadband within four years.

“Quite simply this means rural communities in Tipperary will not be left behind. All of rural Ireland will get the same access to opportunities offered by high-speed broadband as those in urban areas”, he said.

He added - “Fine Gael is delivering on transforming the country for the better and providing more opportunities to all. We have prioritised rural broadband as others, including Fianna Fáil, did everything they could to attempt to derail the plan in a bid to score political points.

“Unlike Fianna Fáil and others, Fine Gael is working to ensure rural Ireland is to the fore of the country’s progression and development. 

“Whereas we have a plan for the country, opposition and critics like Fianna Fáil provide only obstacles. They have no plan, no solutions and no policies for broadband for Ireland.

“As an initial step, the Government has published a list of approximately 300 community centres, schools, library hubs and local GAA halls in every county that will be connected to high speed broadband during 2020, to enable communities to quickly get free public access to high speed broadband.

 The Tipperary  locations are:

Aglish Community Hall, Aglish, Roscrea,   E53E132

Curreeney Community Hall, Curreeney, Kilcommon, Thurles, E41XC62

Drom Community Hall, Drom, Borrisoleigh, Thurles, E41X285

Killea Gaa Club, Killea Community Centre, Killea, Templemore,  E41t6y0

Killeen National School, Killeen, Riverstown, Birr,  R42AK00

Killoscully Community Centre, Killoscully, Newport, V94FK20

Killurney Community Centre, Killurney, Ballypatrick, Clonmel, E91H7W4

Moyglass Community Hall, Moyglass, Fethard, E91WK25

Poulacapple National School, Poulacapple, Callan, R95V324

Rossmore Community Hall, Rossmore, Cashel,  E25D429n 

Cllr Ahearn continued - “The ultimate goal here is to deliver high-speed broadband to homes and businesses all across the country. 

“The delivery of high-speed broadband will be hugely beneficial to economic development and job creation in Tipperary. 

“It will open up a whole range of possibilities including: flexible and remote working; smart health with online GP and nursing services and medical monitoring; cloud-based services and connected devices; smart farming opportunities; digital learning; and reliable electronic payments and bookings for businesses.

“We want to ensure that people who wish to live and work in Tipperary are supported in doing so. It is so crucial for balanced regional development that everyone in the country does not have to go to Dublin to work, study or start an enterprise”.