Ms Katherine Licken:

On the issue raised by Deputy Griffin on parliamentary scrutiny, I understand the European Parliament has appointed a rapporteur and the committee can be assured it is very alert to the import of the proposal. Elections or no elections, it will be given much time. We are always very conscious of the issue of peripherality in any proposal. We are very conscious of the divide within Ireland between urban and rural areas, which is why the Government has a national broadband plan. We are conscious of the need to ensure no proposal exacerbates it even further or marginalises Ireland in a European context. Concerns have been expressed to us by industry that there was not sufficient consultation prior to the proposal being published, but it is fair to say there is significant consultation now. The Commission has visited member states, including Ireland, and there has been a lot of activity.