Methinks that Minister Roche has high hopes for the impact of Wi-Fi access (see below). Now if he was giving away wi-fi enabled laptops…
Oh don't you just love when there's a general election on the way. It's like Christmas…
"Connecting Communities
Roche makes €700,000 available for provision of Wi-Fi Access in Public Libraries
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. Dick Roche, T.D., today (21st March '07) announced the allocation of grant-aid in excess of €700,000 to support the provision by library authorities of infrastructure to allow Wi-Fi access to public library users. This is yet another element of the multi-faceted ICT project Changing Libraries announced by the Minister in October 2005.
Minister Roche has allocated €2,000 for each of the 353 branch libraries for this exciting project. The provision of Wi-Fi infrastructure by library authorities will enable library users to have Internet access either using their own laptops or the libraries' public access computers or laptops.
Speaking today Minister Roche said, "this initiative will connect our local communities, it will break barriers down and will allow for the free flow of ideas. It will also reinforce the role of the Internet and information technology as an integral part of people's lives; this is essential in modern Ireland. It also reinforces the role of the library service at the forefront of information provision and underlines the core function of public libraries as a service that provides access to information and encourages the use of libraries as a space for all." "