Belmont is the worst in country for broadband

It's official, Belmont in Offaly is the worst area in Ireland for broadband coverage, with only 20% of homes in the area having broadband connection.

In fact, two of the top ten areas for poor broadband connectivity lie in Offaly. Shannonbridge ranks seventh on the list, with just 25% of homes connected.

The Midlands fares badly in the latest statistics from the Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS) from last year's census. Legan in Longford is second on the list for the worst broadband, while Westmeath's Ballynacargy sits in eighth position overall.

Businesswoman Sandy Lloyd of Belmont Mill says businesses in rural Ireland are suffering because of it.

'It's intermittent at best. I can tell you so many stories, about trying to file tax returns online and the connection dropping and missing the deadline because of it. About doing research into a new business and having to travel to

Ferbane and take a space in the enterprise centre just to connect to the internet, or even trying to take a daily morning exercise and meditation class on Skype and missing out because of it. People in Dublin don't realise how much people in rural Ireland are missing out,' explains Sandy who moved to Belmont in 2000 with her husband Tom. The pair renovated the old mill and turned it into a hub for artists and craftspeople.

'All of our artists require broadband to do research. We've had every phone company under the sun here to try and get a decent service, 02, Three, Vodafone - you name it. We've spent a lot of money trying to get a decent broadband service, we've tried everything.

'We saw Eir and Fusion going into Ferbane and Cloghan, and we were left out. It's disastrous. Sometimes you get very angry. We pay taxes like everyone else, but we don't get the services. Good quality broadband is now part of most people's daily lives. I still have to stand by my kitchen window to send a text.

'There's not rich enough pickings in Belmont for any of the companies to buy into here. Now the Rural Broadband Scheme has been put back again,†Sandy said.

'With Brexit, Ireland more than ever needs to be connected to the outside world. Ireland is a fantastic country but it could be ten times better. There are so many entrepreneurs here, and a quality broadband service should be top of the list on the government's priorities,' Sandy says.

'Sometimes you'd be crying with tears of frustration. It's very dispiriting. You can't get online. When we told people we were moving to the Midlands, they laughed and said ‘that's the hole in the donut, nothing happens there', but it does. There's lots happening here, but the Midlands needs support. So much more could be done here.'

The latest census figures come as the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment indicated that delivery of the National Broadband Plan is to be pushed back by another year, seven years after it was promised.