Wholesale managing director of open eir Carolan Lennon chaired the session and was joined by a panel of people who demonstrated just how great the opportunities are for communities and businesses when the correct infrastructure is made available.

In any other country, Carmel Fox would be Taoiseach (according to Irish Country Living editor Mairead Lavery!) and Carmel was one of the speakers on this panel. She has been CEO of Ballyhoura Development Ltd – a community-led local development company – for 27 years. Ballyhoura generates an income of €45m a year and supports 1,600 jobs, so it’s no surprise to learn it is regarded as one of the best-performing LEADER groups in the country.

One of the projects driven under Carmel’s leadership is CareBright, which started with two employees on a community employment scheme; it now employs 250 people and cares for 600 people in their own homes. Carmel thinks the tender going in for broadband should be able to achieve total roll-out. “Put the models in place now to reach the toughest areas, because people are very, very anxious to get broadband. It’s one of the biggest issues in rural Ireland and it’s on the minds of people across the country.”

Brian Smith is a Dub, but moved from Dublin to Belcarra, Co Mayo, 10 years ago. He runs medical equipment company Mabtech Services Ltd from home with his wife Juliet. This company sells more than 5,000 medical products online to 140 companies and the couple operate six websites from their home. Mabtech recently sold products to George Clooney (not to George directly, but for his movie Tomorrowland). They participated in open eir’s Fibre to the Home (FTTH) in Belcarra, Co Mayo, and Brian is an advocate of the positive effect fibre has had on the business.

Peadar Gill of Munterconnaught Community Group marshalled the community of Munterconnaught, Co Cavan, into winning open eir’s Fibre to the Home competition. Winning the competition means this rural community will be connected to super-fast broadband by the end of 2016. Peadar said better broadband makes a huge difference to people’s lives in rural Ireland: “My own mother has three grandchildren in Australia and now she’s stalking them all on Facebook!”

Read more

Full coverage: Agri Careers Fair