1 October 1997
Castlebar to benefit from £1m high tech Information Age Town investment
By TOM GILLESPIE at the Point Depot
CASTLEBAR'S entry in the Telecom Eireann Information Age Town project was just pipped by Ennis who were successful in winning a £15 million investment which will result in a technological; boom in the Co. Clare town.
But Castlebar, along with the othet short-listed centres, Kilkenny and Killarney, will each get a £1m hand-out from Telecom Eireann to allow them "continue with as least some of the innovative projects they outlined" to the adjudicators.
In addition Telecom will provide free voicemail facilities to everyone in Castlebar and they have vowed to work in partnership with Castlebar in developing as few of their projects.
But there was grave disappointment on the faces of the Castlebar Steering Committee when the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mary O'Rourke announced at 9.11p.m. on Wednesday last that Ennis had taken the coveted title as Ireland's first Information Age Town.
Earlier in the evening Castlebar had been hotly tipped to take the prize. The buss around the Point Theatre was that Castlebar was the favourite. But it was not to be.
Instead, they were to be consigned to the runners-up section.
But as Deputy Beverley Cooper-Flynn, who was in attendance at the ceremony said: "Let us not forget, that as runner-up, the town is to benefit to the tune of £1m in technical investment.
"While the detailed planning and research which went into our submission document will be an invaluable asset in plotting the Castlebar of the future."
Meanwhile, Deputy Enda Kenny, who also attended the Dublin ceremony, said he was naturally disappointed that Castlebar was not successful in their bid.
But he stressed: "We are to benefit from a £1m investment by Telecom and every household in Castlebar is to be provided with free voicemail."
Likewise, he said all of the 46 towns who entered the competition would be involved in an information age town alliance'.
He said a huge effort had gone into the preparation of the Castlebar submission. It was disappointing they had not won the major award but there was the consolation prize of £1m which would enable Castlebar to eventually join the Information Age.
Also present for the Dublin announcement were the Chairman of Mayo County Council, Mr. Pat Kilbane, the chairman of Castlebar Urban Council, Mr. Blackie Gavin and members of the steering committee Rory Casey, John Condon, Mark Coyne, Ann Crowley, Alec Fleming, Michael Gavin, Frank Greene, Pat Jennings, Finian Joyce, Tony Mannion, Regina McGarrigle, Richard Thorn and Richard Wynne.
Telecom Eireann's Chief Executive, Mr. Alfie Kane said there had ben an incredible response to the competition.
He added: "When I formally launched this project I expressed the hope that our Information Age Town Project would be one of Ireland's most ambitious and exciting initiatives ever.
"Well that outcome has well exceeded my wildest expectations. We received 46 high quality submissions from towns outlining how they would respond if chosen as Ireland's Information Age Town.
"The project galvanised communities and the level of enthusiasm and commitment was unparalleled. And there is little doubt that as a direct result the level of Information Age awareness in Ireland has increased out of all proportions.
"Now given the huge effort which the towns have put into this project we in Telecom believe we should respond in an appropriate manner.
"We have put together a package of measures to assist all 46 towns who participated in this project to connect to the Information Age.
"We know that as a result of this initiative a momentum has been unleashed in towns and we are committed to building on this in a way that harnesses the huge enthusiasm and knowledge gained so far."
Mr. Kane continued; "Firstly, we propose to establish an information age town alliance' involving the 46 towns.
"The idea here is to have a forum where we can share with the towns the ongoing results of our Information Age Town pilot.
"But also work together as a team in pursuing specific agreed initiatives such as securing EU support and integrated multi media delivery of public services.
"Over the next two years we will support the development of Information Age Community Access Centres in each of the 46 towns.
"These centres will be equipped with multi-media PCS where people from the town can access the internet and avail of public services on-line.
"We will also provide a range of expert support and advice to all the towns to help them develop their information Age agendas and as part of this service we will create a special Information Age Tow Intranet.
"This package of measures is a response to all of the 46 towns who participated in this project."
Referring to the short-listed towns, Mr. Kane continued: " Telecom Eireann will invest £1 million in Information Technology in the three short-listed towns.
"This investment is intended to allow these towns to continue with at least some of the innovative projects they outlined to us during our visits.
"In addition to this we will provide free voicemail facilities to everyone in the town. And we will work in partnership with these towns in developing a few of the innovative information age projects that they proposed."
The Chairman of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Frank Greene said there was initial disappointment at not having won the top prize.
However, they were to pick up £1m which would be invested in the development of IT infrastructure in Castlebar.
He said 14,000 man hours had gone into the preparation of the submission and he had no doubt that despite the setback, Castlebar, would benefit enormously from the work that committee had put into the project.
Mr. Greene paid tribute to the steering committee who had given of their valuable time in preparing the submission.
He added: "They are very disappointed with the outcome but I have no doubt that only good will emerge from the hard work that has gone into it."
In particular he paid tribute to the people of Castlebar who had fully supported the project and had displayed their support by turning out on the Mall when the adjudicators visited the town.
