Broadband plan a waste, says union
Under the plan €35m will be spent every year until 2007 rolling out a Group Broadband Scheme which is aimed at rural areas and towns with a population of more than 1,500.
However CWU head of regulatory affairs Michael Bride said taxpayers’ money would be wasted duplicating an existing network.
“It is a scandal that people are left waiting on hospital trolleys, and that children are denied proper school accommodation, yet this Minister feels he can afford to throw €140m of taxpayers’ money into duplicating a telecoms network that already exists,” he said.
Launching the plan yesterday Communications Minister Dermot Ahern said broadband access had to be improved.
“It is simply untenable in a modern society and economy that so many have no access to broadband. That is all going to change.
“We are in the middle of a global information revolution and we are running to catch up with economies such as Korea and Japan where high-speed connectivity is accepted as simply as throwing an electric light switch is here.”
