Clare County Council must step in to assist the thousands of Clare households who are unlikely to ever benefit from high-speed Internet access.That is according to Ennis West Election candidate for Clare County Council, Mr. Tom McNamara who was reacting to the recent announcement by Eircom that people in rural Ireland who live more than 5km from a telephone exchange will not get broadband. Mr. McNamara noted, however, that the potential for achieving universal broadband was still possible despite the failings of the National Broadband Scheme. He pointed to County Limerick where every household will shortly be able to avail of high quality wireless broadband services courtesy of a pilot initiative by Limerick County Council.
Mr. McNamara commented, “Limerick County Council has helped secure universal access to broadband across County Limerick by taking the initiative and working closely with companies that can provide immediate wireless broadband solutions. By entering a licence agreement with Ice Broadband allowing access to 55 Council-owned water towers to install broadband equipment, the local authority has shown that a countywide broadband service can be developed. There is no reason why Clare County Council cannot adopt a similar approach.”
He continued, “I come from Kilmaley Parish, the largest Parish in the Diocese of Killaloe, which is due to have its main telephone exchange broadband enabled later this year. However, under Eircom’s 5-mile condition most households in this 13-mile wide Parish will be excluded from accessing DSL broadband. This situation is replicated throughout County Clare. In fact, the situation is so bad that residents living less than mile from Ennis, Ireland’s Information Age Town, do not have access to wireless or DSL broadband.”
Explaining how a countywide broadband service can be developed in Clare, Mr. McNamara said, “Wireless broadband is all about line of site. If you can see the wireless broadband transmitters then you are most likely going to be able to access the wireless service. However, much of Clare’s topography is typified by rolling hills, which prevents many people from having a line of sight to a transmitter. The erection of transmitters on Council water towers at strategic points around the County would eliminate this problem, thus allowing everyone in Clare to enjoy the benefits associated with broadband.”
“Communities right across the County are frustrated with the lack of available broadband services while members of the business community have spoken of restricted expansion, investment and development opportunities due to the current situation. Broadband is increasingly becoming an essential communications tool and it would be remiss of me, as a candidate in the local election, not to recognise and support every possible method of developing Clare’s telecommunications infrastructure”, he added.
Tom McNamara is a Fianna Fáil candidate in the Ennis West Election for Clare County Council. He has played a leading role in the development of community services for mental health in Clare and has been a community activist in the Parish of Kilmaley for the past 20 years. He was heavily involved in setting up 'Meitheal' (Kilmaley Development Association), of which he was Chairperson for 7 years. Mr. McNamara is the first Kilmaley person to contest a local election since 1979.
