Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was late getting to the meeting. I apologise if I ask questions that go back over ground that has already been covered. We are all asking questions about competition. According to the old saying, competition is the life of trade. We started out with five or six companies that were supposed to be interested in the national broadband plan, but that number dwindled down to four, three, two and eventually one. Is the Secretary General happy that we are down to one? As I have said, competition is the life of trade. Would it be better if there were two or three bidders and the Department could use one against the others to try to get the best value for taxpayers' money? I would like Mr. Griffin to comment on that. I know this question has probably been asked several times already.