SERVICES
‘Monaghan County Council is now inviting applications from community groups in the Ballybay-Clones and South Monaghan Areas. Further applications will be invited when the additional wifi4eu vouchers have been secured.
Note that these groups must be able to achieve high speed broadband within their premises for this to be deemed a valid application.
Completed application forms should be returned by post or by email before Friday 1 November at 5pm. I am also enclosing the information note and application form to be completed by local community groups which may wish to avail of free wifi and broadband facilities.
I would also encourage groups to engage with contacts within the Leader programme based in Monaghan Integrated Development, Castleblayney (042 97 49500) which can assist with further applications for funding for computer equipment and for the delivery of computer training.
Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me.
To receive an application form in electronic format, groups are invited to email broadbandofficer@monaghancoco.ie or to download the application form which is available here: Wifi4EU Monaghan County Council Application Form (MS Word)
For further queries or assistance, please contact
John McArdle, Monaghan Broadband Officer on 047-30500.
Many Thanks
John McArdle
Broadband Officer’
Press Release: Monaghan County Council launches Wifi4EU scheme
The Wifi4EU initiative is an EU led scheme which hopes to develop more digital communities and improve digital access across the European Commission area.
Monaghan County Council has launched the first phase of its Wifi4EU scheme and now invites community and voluntary groups to apply for inclusion to receive free public wifi under the scheme. So far, the council has received EU support for two areas within the county. It is expected that two further areas will receive EU vouchers within the coming months.
The scheme was developed to deliver free public wifi for public spaces in towns and villages throughout the EU area. Monaghan County Council now plans to install broadband and wifi access points in multiple locations for a period of 3 years. Already a number of suitable sites have been identified that will allow the local authority to expand public wifi within existing towns and villages.
The full capital cost for rolling out the complete Wifi4EU programme within the whole county will be up to €120,000, or €30,000 per region. This will be funded by the EU with matched funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development.
Monaghan County Council will also be supporting this initiative by undertaking the running costs for the whole Wifi4EU program within the county for three years. The Wifi4EU project will be rolled out by county broadband officer, John McArdle. Monaghan County Council now intends to make Wifi4EU accessible to local groups where affordable high speed broadband is currently available.
Community Applications for free wifi now open in South Monaghan and West Monaghan areas
The first phase of the Wifi4EU call will cover community groups within the Ballybay-Clones area, together with groups located in the South Monaghan area around Carrickmacross.
The Council now invites applications from community and voluntary groups within the Ballybay-Clones area and within the South Monaghan area within and around Carrickmacross. These spaces can include public administration premises, community halls, local authority facilities, playgrounds, tourist locations, sports facilities or other business premises which facilitate public access.
Groups will be invited to demonstrate how they can use these new wifi facilities to benefit the community and how this can be a stepping stone towards building more digital skills within the area.
High Speed Broadband is a key requirement.
It is expected that high speed broadband must be available at present in the local facility in order to ensure that the public wifi matches all of the stipulations set out within the Wifi4EU agreement. These broadband wifi access points must operate at a minimum of 30Mb download speed to fulfil the criteria for the Wifi4EU grant. Applications where the broadband speed does not meet this requirement will be excluded.
As part of the implementation, all safeguards in relation to web content filtering will be put in place. This will ensure that only content deemed to be safe can be viewed on the internet by users. It is estimated that 10-15 wifi access points will be installed for each area.
To receive an application form in electronic format, groups are invited to email broadbandofficer@monaghancoco.ie or to download the application form which is available here: Wifi4EU Monaghan County Council Application Form (MS Word)
For further queries or assistance, please contact
John McArdle, Monaghan Broadband Officer on 047-30500.