Ms Carolan Lennon:

There were two more questions, one of which was how long it would take to complete if we got the contract. I have always said that it would take five to seven years. We are building a national fibre network so we would have to increase our capacity in terms of that.

The Deputy asked if we were more disappointed with the Department or the Minister. We were disappointed with the engagement with the Department over the 18 months because we thought we were raising valid issues that should have been resolved. Our sense was that the Department never thought we would pull out. Even though it should not have been a surprise, I think it was a surprise when we did pull out. We were disappointed not to get more engagement with the Department. We spent more than €17 million on this bid. We were in the process for a very long time and we wanted to win it. We obeyed the protocol with the Minister so we did not have that much engagement with him on the subject. When we were pulling out, as a courtesy, the former CEO, Richard Moat, requested a meeting and then communicated with him.