Dillon welcomes confirmation of €5million fund to support Broadband Connection Points

Fine Gael TD for Mayo, Alan Dillon, has welcomed confirmation that €5million has been allocated to the Town and Village Renewal Scheme this year to support Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) and hubs.

The funding is intended to add remote working capacity in rural areas and offer better facilities at BCPs.  In additional, Deputy Dillon recently met with management from National Broadband Ireland to ensure the rollout of high-speed broadband in Mayo is accelerated as much as possible.  He has since confirmed that all but one of the BCPs in Mayo and surrounding areas are now operational.

Deputy Dillon said: “As one of the initiatives I am developing to increase the speed and availability of high-speed broadband in Mayo, I was delighted to receive confirmation that €5million has been allocated for 2021 to the Town and Village Renewal Scheme this year to support Broadband Connection Points.  This is a significant increase on the €780,000 allocated during 2020 and I hope it will significantly increase the remote working facilities at our BCPs.

“The funding is likely to be used for covering the purchase of equipment, furniture and items to support remote working.  I am hoping to increase public awareness of these facilities with greater publication of opening hours, number of spaces available, booking systems, available facilities etc.  I want our BCPs to become thriving hubs in our rural areas and locations of choice suited to remote working rivalling the facilities in any high-tech company.

Deputy Dillon added; “I also had the opportunity to meet with management of National Broadband Ireland this week to get an update on the rollout of the National Broadband Plan in Mayo.  They will be responsible for bringing high-speed broadband to over 36,000 premises in Mayo or 44% of all premises in the county.

“It was a productive meeting and I note one of their officials had played a key role in delivering critical broadband infrastructure projects to Mayo in the past.  Following the meeting, I am happy to confirm that 9 of the 10 BCPs planned for Mayo are now operational with the final BCP to go live in the near future.

“There are also 3 BCPS in surrounding counties within very close proximity to Mayo communities which are also live”, Deputy Dillon concluded.