Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On the implementation strategy for national broadband, what I said earlier this year, and I want to make it clear, is that all of the timelines we have set regarding the national broadband plan since the middle of last year when I came into this job have been complied with. For example, we said earlier this year that we would have the implementation strategy. The mapping was this time last year. We said we would do it in November; we did it in November. We then said that we would have an implementation strategy in place by the middle of the year - June or July.

We did that. We said that we would then engage in a pre-notification process to the European Commission, and we did. The Commission is working closely with us. In fact, my officials have confirmed that the Commission is satisfied with the way we are progressing matters. However, there is no way that the Commission is going to be in a position to give a final sign-off on state aid approval until it considers the matter in the necessary detail, and we never thought otherwise.