Ouch!

clohamon

Have you tried logging on to the government website for information on broadband prices and suppliers, www.broadband.gov.ie?

You will probably have difficulty. The site (at the time of writing) is down while it undergoes surgery after it was recently lambasted for its content. Why? Because up until last week it was displaying information that was hopelessly out of date (a bit like the department itself, I suppose).
A recent critical statement by lobby group Ireland Offline highlighted the website's uselessness and questioned the commitment of the communications minister and his department to Irish broadband users.

Eamon McGrane - Sunday Tribune Business

Its amazing the effect of a bit of public ridicule. You could be making well reasoned arguments about the digital divide 'til the cows come home, but making the minister look stupid/incompetent/lazy... well that's a serious matter.

Does anyone know if they're overhauling it themselves or have they called in the experts?

Sponge Bob

Ryan still hasn't fixed it. It went down a week ago with a

Web site under construction

holding page. The monday after the press release in fact .

I suppose Ireland Offline are beavering away on it as a favour to Eamo

bealtine

Looks like it won't be coming back either...

Also looks as if it will be offloaded to Comreg so as they can work their magic on it. Also handy as the ministers whipping boys, he can always just blame the unelected quango and avoid democratic accountability too.

clohamon

In a humble and contrite apology to the Dail, Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan said he deeply regretted having persistently misled the House over the past two years.

"The information on the website was either obsolete or largely inaccurate. I blame myself and my department for this failure and I would like to personally apologise to every member of the house and their constituents who were unfortunate enough to have been directed by me to this useless website. I accept that, had the matter not been brought to public attention by Ireland Offline, I would have continued to do so indefinitely. I have closed the site down and am wondering what to do next."

well not quite. Here's what he actually said.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Eamon Ryan):*
***The broadband.gov.ie website was originally set up to offer customers the opportunity to check the broadband service providers operating in their area for comparison and service delivery purposes. The information was exclusively provided, on a voluntary basis, by licensed service providers who advertised their coverage areas and suite of products on the website. The website was updated as and when service providers advised my Department of changes.
My Department has become concerned that the value of the website is now questionable as up-to-date information is not being provided by all service providers. For this reason, it has been decided to remove the website for the present but I consider that there is still a need for such information to be publicly available so as to facilitate consumer choice.
My Department is accordingly considering other options in this regard and is, in particular, engaging with the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) to see if its website, “Callcosts.ie” could accommodate information for the public on the availability of broadband throughout the country.

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20100202.XML&Node=H27-232#H27-232

They seem to have expunged most links to "www.broadband.gov.ie" from the DCENR site, but not all. In particular the link in the section marked "Other useful sites"

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Communications/Links/Links.htm