Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On looking at the blue and amber maps for the network in areas with which I am familiar across the midlands, it is clear why Eir picked certain groups of houses. The areas could be serviced commercially, it made sense from a commercial point of view because there was profit to be made. Can Ms Lennon see the situation that leaves? There are another 440,000 premises or households that need to be serviced and it is becoming increasingly precarious as to who will service them. Does Ms Lennon believe that will require an even larger subsidy because 300,000 households have been removed and serviced? There are 300,000 households that are commercially viable to service, as Eir is proving and that is the business it is in. Will servicing the other 540,000 households and premises significantly increase the subsidy from the State or from the Exchequer?

Logistically, the ESB has a pole at every house but Eir has not. On more and more houses I see going up, there is an ESB pole and an electricity cable but no phone cable going in. Some of the pole network is in bad shape. Is it Eir's intention to charge so much per pole to whoever the supplier is to rent that pole annually? Would the fee be charged annually or on a ten-year basis? The Minister confirmed earlier, in answer to my question in the Dáil, that a final tender document was supplied today by what is left of the consortium. It would be great if the witnesses could reveal if a figure has been agreed with that company. I would be interested to hear that because that is going to predicate the cost of servicing those 540,000 households.

Eir has control of the network. Nobody can hang a cable on an Eir pole unless it is sanctioned by the Eir board at an agreed price. The regulator will want to get involved but Eir holds the trump card. Has that been sorted and roughly what type of figure are we talking about, if the witnesses cannot give the exact figure?

Some people in the industry and some providers I have met over the past two years tell me that providing fibre to homes could be challenging. The programme for Government states that is going to happen by 2020, which is 15 months from now. That is obviously not going to happen unless a major miracle - never mind a minor one - is performed by someone. That cannot be done. Do the witnesses believe that fibre can be provided to every home? Is that the most effective, and cost effective, way of delivering broadband to remote rural areas?

My last question is a parochial one about the roll-out of services in Laois and Offaly. Several of my constituents have the service but there are others who are still in the amber area even though they are only 50 m away. They are understandably asking why that is. I have had many complaints about that, some of which I have fed in to Eir, where there is a group of houses not far from the blue mark. There might be another group within 600 m, 700 m or 800 m that can be commercially serviced. I understand that wherever one stops, there always will be people who are outside that net. What percentage of households has Eir serviced so far in Laois and Offaly?