Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Based on the Deputy's earlier contribution, my understanding is that the local authority is looking at supporting ducting to connect the Eir network and that the local exchange is fibre-enabled. In a sense, this looks like a public-private partnership, in that Eir is a private company coming together with the library and the hub, which is on a former commercial premises. Supporting the local authority in getting that ducting to the building would make a lot of sense for the local authority. Going back to what I was saying earlier about the town centres first policy, we do not want historic buildings to fall into disrepair. We want them to be used to the maximum extent. We have seen in other hubs across the country, such as the Ludgate centre in Skibbereen, that they can bring a lot of economic activity to an area. I would be very supportive of any support my Department can give the local authority in getting that exchange connected or putting the fibre ducting in place to get it to the relevant buildings.

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