Fine Gael Cork North West Deputy, Áine Collins, today (Tuesday) said that Tier One, which will see a new Hibernia express telecommunications cable being laid from UK to USA with the potential to insert a branching unit into the southern part of Ireland through Cork, would bring immeasurable benefits in terms of high speed broadband and job creation.
“Tier One, the aim of which is to attain international connectivity, would bring huge benefits to the whole southern part of Ireland in the form of improved and higher speed broadband to homes and businesses at a reduced cost.
“By ensuring that our businesses have access to a secure and high speed broadband cable, we are ensuring that they can compete on a level playing pitch with companies internationally. Inserting a branch cable through Cork would have the capacity to attract new business sectors into the region, particularly in the worlds of financial trading, medical and the cloud environment. This would have a significant impact on the whole of the south of Ireland, not just Cork, in terms of job creation.
“Cork is leading the way when it comes to innovation and drawing on our best resource; our people. The links that have been established between business and academia in Cork are setting the pace when it comes to harnessing all that we have to offer. Cork IT now has two new qualifications on offer; a BSc and an MSc in cloud computing, both of which are the first of their kind worldwide. These courses were developed in conjunction with global industry leaders such as IBM, EMC and VMware. Similarly the Science & Innovation Park is another example of the exciting things happening in Cork.
“If we are to get our people off the doles queues and back to work we have to maximise our strong points. Courses, like the ones on offer in Cork IT and UCC, will address the skills shortages in the technological area and will ensure that our graduates have the requisite skills to match industry needs, and that they are best placed to fill the roles we are creating for them.
“Securing funding to allow southern Ireland to get on board the Tier One project will not be without its challenges. The Trans-Atlantic submarine broadband connector could change the face of broadband connectivity, and unemployment, in Cork, creating thousands of new jobs where information systems, file sharing and gaming are concerned. I will continue to press for the advancement of this project and look forward to seeing it through to fruition sooner rather than later.”
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