Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I compliment all the witnesses on their presentations today, both ConnectIreland and, in particular, SLM because its example strikes me as very pertinent. I just wonder how many villages in rural Ireland will not get their SLMs as a result of the fact that it appears the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is prepared to see ConnectIreland lapse this Sunday. When we hear the figure of 957 companies in the pipeline, any of us who knows how the IDA works - and I used to work with the IDA regularly in a previous life - knows there is no way in heaven the IDA will be able to take on that pipeline in any way. Let us be absolutely honest about that. I find it very disturbing. We have all worked collegiately on Brexit and produced a report last week. I must put on the record that I am absolutely bewildered that the Department could consider letting ConnectIreland lapse in the way it proposed to do so. I hope all of us, despite our ideological differences, can agree that we cannot allow this to happen and I appeal to my colleagues in Fine Gael, in particular, to use their influence to ensure that something happens before Sunday because the real victims will be the people in rural Ireland.

I have two questions. It is important to get a perspective on this. Why did Mr. Clune set up this initiative in the first place? I think he has put up €5 million. Given what he has experienced, would he do it again?