Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would caution on one aspect. In regard to small towns and villages being able to apply to do this themselves, we have a model of that already, which is the group water scheme sector. Donegal County Council has been frozen for the past eight years in terms of group schemes because it is dependent on Government grants. I would advise caution because I could foresee a fancy announcement where a Minister would say a fantastic scheme is being rolled out that will bring broadband to every town in the country, for which the Government will allocate €2 million per annum. That is the solution for a government. It is a great PR stunt that looks fantastic but does nothing on the ground in terms of delivering for the communities who need it. As Mr. Brian Boyle is aware, there are group schemes in Donegal that have been trying to get water into their communities for the past 30 or 40 years but can do it because they have not been able to access funding. I agree with much of what Mr. McColgan has said and there is value in it in terms of a real solution, given that the ESB is owned by the citizens of Ireland and the technology is available. It is feasible, it can be done and it is not hugely expensive. What is the timescale for the rollout of the project in Sweden? What investment was required of the Government to deliver these community projects? What is the commitment to rolling it out within a reasonable timescale?