Calls mount to scrap €3bn National Broadband Plan

Calls are mounting to scrap the proposed National Broadband Plan.

The Government has signalled it will sign off on the already delayed plan which has jumped from €500m to €3bn in cost.

But Fianna Fáil TD and European candidate Brendan Smith said the Government should now appoint the ESB to provide high-speed fibre to every home and business in the country.

“The ESB should have been the provider because they are a utility that has a presence in every building in this country.

“That’s the way it should have been delivered,” he said.

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy said broadband is no longer just for people to run a business, it’s essential for people to run a home and should be provided, but he hit out at the Government’s plan.

“People need broadband, they shouldn’t be getting it under the current Government plan because it is a facade, we should not be relying on private companies to deliver public services,” he said.

Fellow candidate in the Midlands North-West constituency Peter Casey accused the Government of “lying to the people” about the provision of rural broadband.

Asked if he would let the plan go ahead, he said:

“Absolutely not, it should be scrapped.”

Meanwhile, Mr Casey came under criticism for comments made over the weekend in which he said there were “freeloaders” in the direct provision system, who he said should be “put back on the plane”.

In an election debate on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, Mr Smith said that the language used by Mr Casey was “terrible”.

Mr Carthy said Mr Casey was trying to play on and take advantage of people’s concerns.

“Ireland is richer when we have a multicultural society,” he said.

“There are a lot of communities who feel very frustrated and Peter is trying to tap into that by blaming foreigners,” he said, adding that investment is needed in those communities.

Defending his comments, Mr Casey said “genuine refugees” should be given a “warm Irish welcome” when they arrive in this country.

“Anyone who is coming from a war-torn area, we absolutely have a responsibility to take our allocation and we should.”

Mr Casey ruled out joining the same group as Nigel Farage if elected to the EU parliament and also backtracked on comments in which he

previously said Ireland should return to the punt.