Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes, that is fine. I wish to ask some straightforward questions. Will people in rural areas have to apply for the service or will a fibre cable be run up every boreen whether the houses want it? Will it be a question of supplying the cable after it is sought by people in the area? What is the plan? It would be dreadful if there are people crying out for and willing to pay for the service next year but the Department says: "No, we are going to do this halfway up the mountain". We know that there may be one house up there and the inhabitants might not want the service. How can one prioritise getting the service? This is a consumer business. How can we get the service to the customers who want it early? We all acknowledge that there will be some customers who might never want the service. Is the Department going to spend money passing their doors? How can one prioritise? One needs a system in place where people can request the service and customer demand is recognised like it is with any other business. If there is not a strong demand then the company will get to people later on. Where demand exists and the public wants the service in their houses then there should be a bias towards facilitating requests.