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Government’s ‘incompetent’ handling of broadband roll-out will cost Laois

The government’s handling the roll out of broadband to rural areas has been labelled incompetent by Deputy Sean Fleming, who said it will cost Laois dearly.

“The Government’s inability to negotiate an agreement to bring high speed broadband to 12,674 homes and business premises in Co.  Laois under the new National Broadband Plan is a sad day for all concerned and the Government should hang its head in shame,” Deputy Fleming said.

“All the main organisations with a track record in broadband have withdrawn from negotiations with the Government leaving a totally unacceptable situation.

“I said on 4th January 2018, that it was ‘disgraceful’, that the Government’s plans at that stage were to connect 12,674 rural homes and businesses in Co.  Laois to broadband but that it would take up to 2023 to complete this process.

“People in Laois and 537,582 people throughout the country have now been left stranded by the Government,”

“What I described one month ago as a disgraceful situation, has now turned into a disgraceful and incompetent situation,” he said.

Losers

“The losers are the ordinary people and businesses in rural Laois and the rest of the country.  Meanwhile, the Government will issue a press release to gloss over this shameful situation but the people will see through this,” Deputy Fleming said.

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