Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I refer to Brexit and privatisation. I agree with Deputy Donnelly on Brexit. In particular, I agree with him regarding the effect it will have on small companies. We are already seeing the signs of this in agriculture in particular. One of the things that struck me in the aftermath of the Brexit period is that the Government said when it happened that we did not expect the world to change the following day. However, big things are shifting that are going to affect us in the medium term. The people who are beginning to experience this are small and medium-sized companies that have to sell to other countries and the UK and which need to be able to plan for the future. I am aware of this matter. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, is raising it with me. One of the main themes the Taoiseach has asked me to address is what we can do on budget 2017 to begin to Brexit-proof our economy. I accept the point Deputy Donnelly raised and that is something we will be able to return to.

Deputy Donnelly asked me about the privatisation of the broadband network. I share a different view on this. This was a decision that was primarily made by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, although I fed into it. If I look at the future of the network, we are talking about a portion in respect of which this choice has been made. We are also talking about a portion of that network which will be regulated in a different way, conscious of the learnings we have had on this in the past. That is one of the reasons that led the Minister, Deputy Naughten, to make this decision.