Mr. Mark Griffin:

How we handled the communication has not been helpful. As I said to Deputy Connolly, it would have been preferable if we had been clearer around the outcome of the extend versus retender issue. One must look at why the MANs were set up because they are a unique offering. Some 84 or 85 are rings within towns, some of them large and some of them small.

It can be because the take-up was low or having to operate on a commercial basis to generate additional take-up. The reason we went to look at the extend versus retender option was not to do with their having invested €30 million. We did a very detailed analysis around performance but also on what would be the right thing for the market in terms of whether we would extend or retender. The Norcontel report covers some of that. It is clear that, leaving aside the financial aspects, several qualitative and quantitative outcomes were identified which would give greater certainty to telecoms operators on the availability of the MANs infrastructure. That would allow them to draft their own investment plans. We were entering a time where there was very substantial change, which can be seen both from the private sector investment and our own work in the period under review.