Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I understand that. I will try to short-circuit things. Eir introduced the notion of a universal service obligation when its representatives appeared before the committee. They cited examples of the extension of a universal service obligation. The State has an obligation agreement with Eir that connects to every home in the country that wants to be connected with copper wire. If the model is good enough to have copper wire running to every home, surely it should be good enough to run a piece of fibre cable to every home. Why would one want any more complexity, rules, regulations and transparency in making that connection? I do not wish to simplify the matter, but these are the questions members are being asked. The public is looking at the massive superstructure that has been created and wondering why something that started out with a potential cost of €500 million will now cost €3 billion. Eir has stated it can do it for €1 billion. It has already done it in part of the intervention area on a commercial basis.

I can sit here until tomorrow, I am sure, listening to Mr. Mulligan and he will give fact after fact that are all correct. Is there another model or arrangement that can be entered into? That may require stalling where we are at now. Is there another model? Knowing everything that the Department now knows, and clearly it did not at the beginning, is there another model through the extension of a universal service obligation or whatever that can get us high-speed broadband at the same speeds and quality of service, as in the 300,000 area, for €1 billion?