Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for a very interesting presentation. I was going through the maps and the details for Dublin West and I noticed there is a broadband connection point in Tyrellstown which is said to be “pending”. More rural parts of the constituency are in the yellow section but there are also sections of the map, for areas like Cruiserath and Ballycoolin, where there are small yellow dots, and I suppose they are the individual houses or units within that area which are not covered by broadband. I find this interesting because 99% of Dublin West is covered and is marked in blue on the map. In addition, a number of data centres, to which the witnesses referred, are in Dublin West and a couple of others are being built, even as we speak. Mention was made of starting at Claremorris and working out from there. Given the existence of these data centres, what decision has been made to work out from an area which has 99% coverage to those smaller, more rural parts of Dublin West?

Given the State is providing the infrastructure, what is the cost to the providers on a consistent basis? When they come in and look to provide their service, what will we be getting back from them?

My final question is around 5G and optic fibre. My understanding of 5G is that it uses small masts and there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of them. Does that connect into this broadband or is it a separate system? In terms of future proofing, on which a question was asked earlier, how does that impact on provision? If 5G explodes all of a sudden, does it make this null and void or surplus to requirements into the future?