Mr. Patrick Neary:

On the overall roll-out, as Mr. Ó hÓbáin has stated there, NBI has indicated that it is very confident that it will deliver the project within the overall timelines and it has a high ambition to exceed those timelines. We are pressing them very hard to do that.

On the accuracy of information that is being issued to everyone, it is worth stepping through how this information comes out and is published. NBI is giving out the best information that it has available to it at a point in time. It is on the website and down to an Eircode postcode as to when broadband will be available to that premises. For a number of premises, that will be very accurate because it is at the last throw to build the infrastructure out to that premises. If the premises is further out and NBI have not started the surveys to that area, or the low-level design is not fully completed yet, then there are definitely caveats as to the accuracy of that information. The further away that premises is in the build, the more the possible estimation of risk is not as accurate. As Mr. Ó hÓbáin has said, it is giving out the best information that is available to it and for the vast majority of premises, it tends to be reasonably accurate. It gives an indication as to when that build will be available to that premises.

As NBI goes through the surveys - it inspects the infrastructure in the area and looks at the local issues that may disrupt the deployment - the accuracy of that information is improved. As NBI starts the pre-works and the preparation works with Eir, it further improves and as it gets closer and closer to the actual deployment date, it becomes very precise, down to the point where it is giving out specific dates to industry as to when that individual premises will be available.

NBI's website gives the best information it has available across the full seven years as it stands today. That is something NBI implemented this year on the basis of high demand from citizens and public representatives that the information it has on the deployment forecast be made available.

The solution for the islands is that a local exchange will typically be deployed, with fibre rolled out from that exchange to each individual house. That is the template for the solution for the islands. One of the key questions is what the connectivity to that exchange will be. It is done on a case-by-case basis, looking at the best solution possible for the exchange. In some cases, subsea cable is appropriate, available and can be used. In other cases, it is a matter of bringing fibre to the nearest point that is close to the mainland and putting in a small-gigabit wireless connection to the exchange. That is the template but it really needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis as to what is feasible and possible to do. It is about bringing the fibre as close as possible to the local exchange on the island.