Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The contract will not be signed until the Department is fully satisfied again, at that point, that the consortium has the operational and financial capability to implement this contract. That is the safeguard, at that point, as to how this can be dealt with. On my point that the risk for us is capped, the reason I stand by that assertion is that all of the different issues that have been raised in the debate on this, including what could happen with take-up, the coverage area being impinged etc., could have a significant effect on the economics of this project. There is also the question of value of fibre optic technology in future. These are all significant issues and risks that somebody else will now have to manage. In return for that, we will pay them a subsidy to connect 100,000 homes per year and get that upfront at the start of the contract.