Progress being made on securing high-speed broadband for areas in north Kildare

Local Fianna Fail TD, Frank O Rourke, has said today that he is continuing to keep the pressure on Eir in connection with the timelines for the rollout of their fibre broadband technology, in particular the fibre to the home (FTTH) technology, to many parts of North Kildare. He was speaking following a meeting with Eir’s senior executives in Leinster House recently.

"Eir’s relatively new FTTH (Fibre To the Home) technology is designed for rural areas where bringing copper wires from cabinets proves more difficult," Stated Deputy O’Rourke.

‘‘I continue to make representations to Eir in relation to securing adequate Broadband coverage for areas such as; Newtown, Broadford, Timahoe, Eadestown and Kilteel. By the end of March next, over 2,500 additional rural Kildare premises will be connected to broadband by the Fibre to the home technology (FTHH). 400 rural premises in the Maynooth area, 370 in Kilcock, 480 in Donadea, 520 in Straffan and 470 in Carbury are examples of the planned rollout for this year in rural Kildare.’’

Deputy O'Rourke used his local area of Kilcock as an example for a place that has been able to avail of high-speed broadband in recent years, while nearby towns like Celbridge and Maynooth also have access to good services.

“Kilcock for example currently has 2,400 homes and businesses that have access to broadband speeds of up to 100Mb/s, with further connections planned. In Maynooth, 4,500 homes and businesses have access to speeds of up to 100Mb/s and a further 400 homes and businesses have been earmarked for fibre to the home by June 2017.  Today in Celbridge, over 7,400 homes and businesses have access to speeds of up to 100Mb/s. An additional 150 premises are due to be covered by Eir’s fibre to the home rollout by June 2017.’ Stated Deputy O’Rourke.