"The ability to work or learn from home effectively is very much determined by where you live."
Poor broadband is causing issues for many people who are working from home in Ireland, a new survey has shown.
The survey, conducted by Taxback.com, found that 51% of 2,500 respondents from across Ireland had experienced technical issues due to poor quality broadband in their home since lockdown began in March.
Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures show that 47% of the population have had their employment affected by Covid-19, with 34% of these beginning to work remotely from home and 12% increasing their hours working from home.
The survey sought to gain insight into how broadband provision levels around the country were impacting on working from home experiences.
"One area that is really letting many of us down at the moment is poor quality broadband services, which the pandemic has brought into sharp focus,"Marian Ryan, Consumer Tax Manager at Taxback.com, said.
"The results are split almost 50:50 between those who say they have experienced issues and those who haven’t, but what is interesting is the breakdown of where those who experience issues are located.
"37% of those who reported issues were located in rural areas and towns, and a further 14% were located in major cities. Unsurprisingly, it’s our colleagues who live outside the major cities who are most likely to suffer.
"This shows just how the unequal distribution of broadband around the country works to facilitate and create opportunity for some, but not for others. The ability to work or learn from home effectively is very much determined by where you live."
Last month, the company delivering the National Broadband Plan on behalf of the government, National Broadband Ireland, announced that broadband speeds will be three times greater than originally planned.
The contract, signed with the government last November, originally promised to bring 150Mbps to every person and business in the Intervention Area without access to high-speed broadband over the next four years.
However, it has now announced it will now bring a minimum download speed for its standard products of 500Mbps.
