Dr. Gary Healy:

To put it into context, as I come from a mobile operator background, we have had historical difficulties in getting access to motorways, particularly when the motorway network was being built several years ago. All we are looking for are sites along the sides of motorways, which are relatively small, as well as the ducting that goes with that. The issue is not about cost. As an industry, we pay a lot in fees, rents and so on for sites and are happy to so do.

Our difficulty with the NRA and the road network is that it has been difficult to engage when the road is being built. That is the ideal time to engage. At the previous meeting, committee members referred to coverage issues on motorways. That is because we only had access to the motorways when they were open and not at the time they were built and designed, which is the ideal. We now have engagement with the NRA and we are working on it, but the delay is unfortunate and means people have coverage difficulties on the motorways. We built our network without those motorways in mind. We built it around towns, and when the motorway comes in and people are using it we must redesign our network. Ideally, we redesign it along the network. Greater co-ordination with State agencies helps, particularly in respect of motorways. It was an unfortunate event from our point of view.