Mr. Arnold Hatch:

In regard to the interconnector, I come from the hub of the north, Portadown. There is an industrial estate there, the Carn industrial estate, where Moy Park, Irwin's and many food companies are located.

If we do not get a better electricity supply we will not be able to expand. Development in Craigavon is held up because of the lack of the interconnector. I cannot comment on whether it should go overground or underground. As the planning application may well come to the planning committee of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, I have to keep an open mind on the subject. Regardless of from what source it comes, be that Scotland or Dublin, it is needed now for Northern Ireland to grow, never mind the Border corridor. We are only 20 miles from the Border and we are affected.

In terms of broadband, I was living in cuckoo land because I thought that the programme in the South would roll out a minimum of 80 Mbps of fibre to every household over the next for or five years. I presumed that was going ahead and we were sitting jealously watching from the North. One of our councillors who lives in the Banbridge area cannot get broadband. There are two contracts floating about, one of which is a local contract with BT which will take fibre to hubs which will then circulate it to businesses. The second contract is a BT contract which allows the company to decide where the work starts, which is usually the highest area, working outwards into the country because there is more money in the central areas than there is in the peripheral areas. We are trying to get a contract which is the opposite. We want BT to service the worst areas first and work inwards. Regardless of what way it is done, we need it done now.