Latest Laois News: Laois councillors look for National Broadband Ireland meeting

Unanimity across party lines as all Laois councillors seek meeting with National Broadband Ireland

Today’s (Feb 22) monthly meeting of Laois County Council saw broadband and the non-availability of it throughout large swathes of the county come high up on the agenda.

Dealing with agreeing a date to meet with with National Broadband Ireland (NBI) Councillor John Joe Fennelly was at pains to point out how necessary such a meeting was. As for the length of such a meeting Cllr. Fennelly had this to say:

” (The councillors) need a special meeting with NBI. (A meeting) of 20 minutes is not enough. (I) honesty don’t think 20 minutes will suffice.”

Councillor John King supported Cllr. Fennelly in this matter and went on to say:

” (Broadband) services in Rathdowney are very poor. The Principal of St. Fergal’s College is trying to communicate with his students. We need a good service as soon as possible'”

Echoing this consensus amongst all the councillors Councillor Mary Sweeney had this to say:

“(The current Broadband) service is not what we were promised. It merits a lot of attention.

Call for National Broadband Plan to be rolled faster than envisaged 5 years

Councillor Aisling Moran agreed with Councillor Fennelly’s proposal and made a point of stressing that:

“We do need to rolled it out a lot quicker than the 5 years (envisaged in the plan).”

Councillor Padraig Fleming wanted to know the timescale involved in the Broadband rollout locally. Cathlaoirleach Councillor Catherine Fitzgerald pointed out that the issue of Broadband and its availability was one of the top issues during the last election campaign.

Councillor Willie Aird made a point of thanking Ms. Antoinette Brennan in the council as he would direct constituents’ queries about Broadband issues to her. Cllr. Aird continued thus:

“We should be able to send in (a list of Broadband) black spot areas so we had a timeline (of the roll out) in advance. ….Not fair for people (living) off side roads. Why is (the NBI) not going down lanes?”

Cathlaoirleach Councillor Catherine Fitzgerald finished up by echoing her colleague’s wishes that a special meeting be arranged where Broadband was the sole issue.

In response Laois County Council Director of Services Joseph Delaney said that they’d look into organizing this meeting.