Cathal Barry
Parish priest outlines necessities of Government investments in “essential services” like broadband
The lack of broadband in some parts of rural Ireland is having a severely negative impact on local communities, priests working at the coalface have warned.
Fr John Joe Duffy, parish priest in Stranorlar, Co. Donegal, told The Irish Catholic that the “present lack of broadband is having a severely negative impact on local families and businesses”.
“Broadband is extremely slow in some areas and almost non-existent in some parts of the county. It’s having a severely negative impact on Co. Donegal. It’s hampering development and job creation and stifling growth,” he insisted.
Fr Duffy said that without sufficient investment in “essential services”, such as broadband, by the Government, certain parts of rural Ireland would be “left behind”.
“There is great talk about recovery but it’s very much two-tiered from what I can see. There are places in some parts of the country that are being provided with services but there seems to be an overall lack of commitment to providing essential services such as broadband in rural parts of Ireland,” he said.
Sociologist Fr Micheál Mac Gréil SJ described the lack of broadband in certain parts of country as a “scandal”.
Essential
“Broadband is now an essential part of modern communications, you have to have it. We now need broadband as part of the communications essential for any development but also for the quality of life of all people in rural Ireland. It’s universal now. It’s no longer a privilege,” he said.
Connemara-based Fr Pádraig Standún told this newspaper that unreliable broadband connectivity was preventing businesses from establishing bases in rural Ireland.
“The lack of broadband is causing problems for local people and local businesses all over rural Ireland. It’s hit and miss at the best of times. It’s a nightmare,” the Carna parish priest said.
“I’m sure a lot of businesses considering setting up in rural Ireland decide to go somewhere else that has proper broadband. Here it might work one day and not so well on another,” he added.
Fr Duffy called on the Government to “prioritise broadband in rural parts of Ireland because it’s totally unacceptable”. “There will be absolutely no improvement economically in rural Ireland if that doesn’t happen,” he said.
