An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny has appointed Deputy Michelle Mulherin as chair of the newly formed Fine Gael Policy Committee for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
Deputy Mulherin served as chair of the Planning and Economic Development Committee on Mayo County Council and during her tenure was a driving force in the creation of the renewable energy strategy for the county.
“I am delighted to be appointed as chair of this exciting portfolio which will feed into national policy,” Deputy Mulherin said. “I look forward to working with Minister Pat Rabitte and Junior Minister Fergus O’Dowd in my new capacity.
“To begin, my focus will be on development of our renewable energy resource potential and on creating a proper broadband service with adequate speed and broadband width.
“There is massive scope for development in County Mayo in energy and communications which are absolutely fundamental to our future economic growth. It is my hope that with the right national policies and prioritisation we can see this development become a reality.”
Deputy Mulherin also congratulated Claremorris Chamber of Commerce and local businesses for their initiative in working together to ensure the Metropolitan Area Network (MAN high speed broadband ) in Claremorris was lit for the benefit of growing business and future investment.
“We have to tackle the obstacles which have led to low take up and usage of the MAN service throughout the county, notwithstanding the State owned fibre optic cables actually being in the ground. I plan to get to the bottom of this through my own committee. Issues such as this have to be resolved so as to achieve the required broadband and communications infrastructure to support our country’s bid to become a leader in cloud computing.”
