Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----where the commercial sector will not deliver what needs to be delivered for the people of rural Ireland. We are doing that. The Deputy stated that the projects should be done side by side. The national broadband plan, with its 30% or whatever it ends up being and the 96%, is a large undertaking. It is not realistic to assert that we should be rolling out services in rural areas in parallel with commercial operators' roll-out in cities. It cannot work that way. We must undertake this work as a whole project. We must plan, get our ducks in a row, get state aid approval from the Commission, set up a procurement process and ensure that the legal, economic and technical elements are correct. We are undertaking this as one project for rural Ireland whereas the operators have different commercial interests. For example, some are legacy operators that already have kit in the ground. They operate at different levels and paces whereas we are undertaking one large project. That is the right way to do it. Whoever is sitting here in five or even three years' time will not be thanked if this project is not undertaken as comprehensively as we have planned.

I agree with the Deputy regarding energy poverty. We have energy poverty. I attended a good conference on this matter a few mornings ago. We have the better energy warmer homes scheme. In terms of energy use, it is important that people's homes be warm and properly insulated. Retrofitting is a key element in what we need to do. If it is done right, it only needs to be done once. It can transform energy consumption in homes. The Deputy was right in his comments. He mentioned circumstances in which people had few resources as well as structural issues with their homes' doors, windows, etc. Such factors must form part of an holistic approach to energy efficiency and eradicating as best we can energy poverty.