Connacht Tribune
Broadband impasse hits rural business
The continuing impasse on the roll-out of rural broadband is having a massive impact on thousands of homes and businesses in rural Ireland.
That’s according to Fianna Fáil TD for Galway and Roscommon Eugene Murphy, who said he is inundated with complaints amid the continuing delay in signing the contract for the National Broadband Plan (NBP).
“We have had nothing but delay after delay with hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses still waiting to be connected to the network,” he said.
The NBP aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland. It intends to ensure that all citizens and businesses have access to high speed broadband no matter where they live or work.
Deputy Murphy brought the attention of the Minister of Communications, Denis Naughten, to the difficulties caused to businesses and communities in Galway and Roscommon by the lack of high speed broadband – particularly in view of the fact that such a high percentage of these counties fall under the scope of the State Intervention Area under the NBP.
The State Intervention Areas are places where there is no existing or planned commercial network and so the State intends on providing these areas with it.
Minister Naughten said in response that he was ‘acutely aware of the impact that a lack of reliable high speed broadband has on people throughout Ireland, including Galway and Roscommon’.
Deputy Murphy said that the lack of high speed broadband is having a serious impact on hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in rural Ireland waiting to be connected to the network and that he’s had a ‘number of complaints’.
“Minister Naughten has failed to give any indications as to when the contract for the NBP will be signed,” he said.
“Communities up and down the country simply don’t believe what the Government is saying about its broadband plans because every commitment to date has been broken,” he added.
He feels a lot of places, especially places outside Ballinasloe in Galway are “very badly affected.”
“It’s a serious issue,” he said, “it’s a huge issue that people are forgetting about because it’s not urban areas,” he said.
Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív has also addressed Minister Naughten on the same topic, asking him when the contract for the roll out of the NBP will be amended and when it is expected that work on it will take place.
Minister Naughten said that his department is in a “formal procurement process to engage a company who will roll-out a new high-speed broadband network in the State Intervention area.” Minister Naughten also said that the process was now in its final stages.
“Accessing quality broadband is a core requirement for small and medium sized businesses across the country,” said Deputy Murphy.
“The provision of quality broadband for rural Ireland is not a luxury, it is a matter of necessity for survival.
“Farmers cannot complete online applications for payments, schools are unable to access educational aids and businesses are unable to operate fully functional online services.
“Minister Naughten needs to announce a date for the contract to be signed so that the scheme can be rolled out to the areas which desperately need it most,” concluded Deputy Murphy.
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Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
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Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
