Broadband Plan almost complete in Cavan and Monaghan
- Róisín McManus -
The vast majority of eligible premises in counties Cavan and Monaghan can now connect to fibre broadband under the State's National Broadband Plan. The completion rates for the two counties are 93% in Monaghan and 88% in Cavan with areas around Castleblayney and Bawnboy set to be connected by year end.
Operated by National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the rollout of the National Broadband Plan seeks to fulfil the Government’s commitment to bringing high-speed broadband to every part of Ireland, particularly rural Ireland.
With work ongoing since 2020, the plan is due for completion by the end of this year.
Some 16,000 premises in Co Monaghan and 17,000 premises in Co Cavan are part of the National Broadband Plan’s intervention area.
To date, around 14,300 premises in Co Monaghan have access to the network, and almost 14,800 properties in Co Cavan can connect to the network.
Of these, there have been more than 5,700 premises in Co Monaghan and more than 5,400 premises in Co Cavan have opted to join the fibre broadband network.
“The National Broadband Plan, at national level, is very much on track to being finished earlier than anticipated by a few months,” says John McArdle, Monaghan County Council’s Broadband Officer.
“That’s mirrored within Co Monaghan and the vast number of counties.”
“There are very few projects of this scale that have been delivered on time, and ahead of time,” he adds.
Speaking to the Celt, Mr McArdle says that the last remaining area in Co Monaghan to be connected is the rural area around Castleblayney, covering Drumhowan, Oram and parts of Donaghmoyne up to the bridge heading to Culloville.
“There are about 3,500 homes in that space,” the broadband officer reveals.
“People in those areas can now order or pre-order. Not all the fibre’s there but it’s expected to be there by the end of April.”
Although the rollout of fibre broadband sets out to support local people and businesses, not everyone who can connect to the network will.
It is estimated that around 40% of premises nationwide will be connected.
“The take up rates nationally have been higher than anticipated,” Mr McArdle tells the Celt. “Around 38% to 42% of the premises passed have put orders in.”
“The reality is they will finish within scope, earlier than anticipated, so it’s hugely successful in that regard, and very much an enabler for small industry and small business,” he remarks.
“NBI knows that there’s work to do to drive more people to get connections. But the fact that the infrastructure is there means that it can be done relatively easily.”
So far, 38-39% of premises in Co Monaghan have been connected to the network. This figure changes depending on how long the infrastructure has been installed in an area.
“What’s important is anyone who’s living in rural Monaghan, bear in mind that Monaghan’s population is predominantly rural, all of those people now have access to high-speed broadband,” Mr McArdle says.
“They can work from home, businesses can work from rural areas.”The tech expert says that work is “actively” being done to improve digital skills within Co Monaghan.
Although the rollout of the plan is due for completion by the end of 2026, in the midst of a national housing crisis, new builds will also need the capacity to connect to the grid.“For new homes that are being built within the intervention area, NBI has a commitment to service those new homes,” Mr McArdle reveals.
“That’s a slightly longer process because when a home is built and it gets assigned an eircode, only then can it be added to a list for NBI to be surveyed with a view to getting fibre installed.”
As the plan predominantly prioritises connecting rural Ireland to fibre broadband, some regions that aren’t part of the intervention area may be left without similar broadband coverage.
“Where we are seeing people fall behind is in some of the towns and villages that aren’t part of the National Broadband Plan, and possibly need to be included in a new project, like a mini broadband plan," Mr McArdle tells the Celt.
"Or we need to get commitments from some of the statutory providers like Eir so that Eir would make a commitment that’s time-bound to deliver fast fibre.”
It's a "big challenge", he concedes. Storm Éowyn, which wreaked havoc across Ireland and left people in Cavan, Monaghan and neighbouring counties without electricity, internet, and in some cases, water, for weeks in early 2025. It has sparked a major debate about the resilience of infrastructure in Ireland.
Looking to the future, as climate change continues to pose a lingering threat of extreme weather events, Mr McArdle says that physical cables are the strongest solution for internet connectivity long-term.
“Fibre is a more robust solution than Starlink,” he says, although the broadband officer praised technologies like Starlink for allowing small businesses to operate successfully in areas fast fibre arrived.
“I worked on a lot of building projects through the years, where you get physical cables, they’re more robust,” he qualified. The network can be further enhanced to deliver even great speeds. "There are additional speed improvements built into the overall National Broadband Plan over a 25-year duration," explained Mr McArdle.
Work ongoing in Bawnboy
His counterpart in Cavan, Daniel Peeters, says the programme is almost delivered here too.
Bawnboy in West Cavan is the last remaining part of the county where work is ongoing to build the network.
“From past experience, it took about six months from the start when a new area came online until the broadband connection was available,” Mr Peeters reveals.
“But seeing as this is in West Cavan, where the houses are much further apart and the landscape is different, we are slightly ahead of schedule and most premises should be connected by the end of 2026.”
Around 30%-35% of Cavan premises included in the intervention area have been connected to the network.
Speaking to the Celt, Mr Peeters says that Cavan was among one of the first areas to be covered by the National Broadband Plan and at one stage had “record” numbers of uptake. “That has evened out just as the rollout speed evened out,” he said.
Going forward, Mr Peeters says that the plan has been set up to ensure adequate capacity for fibre broadband connectivity in future.
“Capacity has been planned from the start so when they are rolling out fibre, they plan for the capacity that’s already there and capacity for the coming years, so new houses can be connected quickly in those areas.”