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While those in the hinterlands have, for many years, been the poor relations when it comes to high-speed broadband, some Wexford councillors are now fearful that the roles will be reversed, with the townsfolk the one’s left behind. At April’s meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland Deployment, provided an update on the rollout of the super-fast service across the county.

As Wexford continues to bear the brunt of extreme weather events one councillor has suggested teaming up with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to counteract issues such as coastal erosion and flooding. Councillor Jim Moore, who has witnessed the devastation at Seaview in Kilmore after repeated storms, called upon the council to utilise the expertise and knowledge of those at the EPA via one of its new research projects.

The chairperson of Ireland’s Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) will be among the speakers at a seminar on how Wexford can best deal with the impact of climate change in the county. Hosted by the Wexford Lions Club, the seminar will take place on Tuesday, April 23 at 7.30 p.m. in County Hall at Carricklawn and will see CCAC chair Marie Donnelly and chief executive of Friends of the Earth Ireland Oisin Coughlan address the audience.

The Still Pond in Enniscorthy has deteriorated to such an extent that the swans which once resided there have chosen to make their home elsewhere. At the April meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD), Councillor John O’Rourke asked why the council’s environmental department had yet to respond to his queries regarding the condition of what he described as once being a “fantastic amenity” for the town.

Over 150 officials from national and international governments, included Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, have attended the Enniscorthy Forum’s summit on “securing real progress toward sustainable buildings”. At the summit, leading building practitioners explored how to decarbonize buildings and create “more resilient, liveable communities” and discussed the “need to act quickly . . . to deliver high performance buildings in order to meet the climate challenge and deliver on quality-of-life aspirations around the world”.