REMOTE working for those living in the county town has taken a major step forward with the opening of the Ennis Digital Hub. The state-of-the-art facility at the Quin Road Business Park was officially opened by Minister Heather Humphries at the end of last month and brings to ten the number of hubs operating under Clare County Council’s Digiclare initiative. Among those welcoming the centre was Councillor Johnny Flynn who said the hub was a long-time goal for the county town. “Six years ago, I tabled a notice of motion requesting a feasibility study be carried out on the development of a hub for Ennis,” he outlined. “I believe the facility will be critical in enabling people living in the area to enable employment. The Ennis hub is the tenth in the county, so the people of the county town have been waiting patiently as the rural centres were developed first. The potential of the hub is huge in enabling …
Read More »Broadband plan works on way for South East Clare
WORK on the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan is expected to begin in parts of South East Clare by the end of the month. Members of the Rural Development Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) heard an update this week from Urban McMahon Head of Information Systems, Broadband and Digital on the work of National Broadband Ireland (NBI) and on the DigiClare initiative. “They will be moving out from Limerick into Parteen and areas close by,” he said. “For the build, they’ll be using the Eircom infrastructure and liaising with us on traffic management. There should be a lot of activity in East Clare in the coming months. NBI will also be undertaking a marketing and information campaign in the area before the end of this month.” Efforts to provide WiFi hotspots in each municipal district were also outlined. Mr McMahon explained that up to €120,000 had been secured to provide public WiFi in places like The Square in Kilrush, in …
Read More »Carron connection goes live at Michael Cusack Centre
HIGH-SPEED broadband, hot desk and video conferencing facilities are now available at the Michael Cusack Centre in Carron. The initiative was driven by Clare County Council, in partnership with the centre operators and the government. The Broadband Connection Point (BCP) was provided under the National Broadband Plan, and was officially opened as The Cusack Hub and Broadband Connection Point. The new digital hub facility, which is part of the local authority’s DigiClare.ie initiative, will support rural social enterprises and the wider community by providing flexible, affordable hot desks, video conferencing and printing facilities, all supported by high-speed broadband. The facilities at the hub will be made available to all members of the community who have a requirement to access these services, such as those working remotely and students who require access to third-level course material online. Groups and organisations in the area will also be able to use the facilities for community purposes, such as meetings and presentations. The BCP …
Read More »Remote hubs a lifeline for Clare’s remote workers
THE remote working revolution prompted by the Coronavirus pandemic would have been impossible to predict at the start of this year. A life-time ago, back in January, working away from the office was still a fairly fuzzy concept for most of us, tied in with worthy but not-always-attainable aims like reducing our carbon footprint, cutting down on daily commuting and achieving a better work-life balance. Now that we have all been thrown into reality of having to meet our work commitments without venturing into crowded offices, finding an appropriate space for remote working has become a real challenge. Kitchen tables across the country have been acting as board room bases for video conferences, while serving as virtual classrooms at the same time – not always with harmonious, or productive results. In Clare, thanks to a synergy of two key departments, the local authority has been better able than many of its counterparts to respond to the surge in demand for …
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