Brussels, 29/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On her first visit to Ireland, on Monday 28 September, Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cretu welcomed the roll-out of broadband in the country but said that more had to be done to improve the poor coverage in rural areas.
“While Next Generation Access coverage in Ireland stands at 71% of households across the country as a whole, Next Generation Access stands at only 8% for rural areas”, Commissioner Cretu stated at the conference on rural broadband, where she was speaking alongside Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan. She nonetheless praised the coherence and efficient implementation of the national broadband plan and the national digital strategy which aims to close the gap between rural and urban areas.
She said that the European rural development fund will invest €75 million over the next five years to support public authorities and companies in broadband deployment, in addition to the support provided by the European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD), which will focus on training in order to maximise the socio-economic benefits of high-speed broadband.
Contribution to the peace process. Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin highlighted the importance of European funding for the Irish economy and also for the peace process in Northern Ireland. He spoke of the Interreg programme that facilitates cooperation projects between the two states that had long been in conflict, alongside the PEACE IV programme. This latter programme, which has a budget of €229 million, is beginning its fourth year. It was set up specifically to consolidate dialogue between Northern Ireland and the northern counties of Ireland. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)