Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. O'Connor for the presentation. I presume he is working in consultation with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on this matter. I welcome the hubs but I have a fear at the back of my mind that some people think hubs are a substitute for bringing fibre to every building and home. I am concerned about the fact that because the hubs are located in very isolated areas, that tells me very clearly that these are going to be the areas that will get fibre last. Could Dr. O'Connor confirm whether that is the case? Looking at the pattern of roll-out to date, it seems to be starting in big towns and cities and working outwards, and the most rural and isolated areas will be four to five years later. Given the work that is being done with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, could Dr. O'Connor confirm that my guess is right, and that is the reason the hubs are being created by the national broadband plan in these more isolated areas, as he referred to them?

So far, the hubs have been developed by the private sector. Some of them might be owned by the public sector, as are all the Údarás ones, for example, but they are for the private sector, they are not specifically for the Civil Service or the public service. Have discussions taken place on the possibility of providing public sector hubs so that people working in Departments in Dublin or around the country could work from a hub and have secure links into the public service network, and that these would be controlled by the public realm?

I do not know if I can bring the map onto the screens.