Mr. T.J. Malone:

We are looking at the end of 2026. We are right on target for the end of 2026 or the first month of 2027, which is the end of the seven-year contract. At the moment, we are probably running somewhere in the region of 79,000 homes behind and by the end of next year, we will have that eaten into and we will be approximately 50,000 homes behind. By the end of 2025, we will be right back on track in line with the original seven-year plan with a view to finishing it within that seven-year envelope.

We are making substantial progress. There have been tough yards in the first couple of years but this year has really proved the point and we are hitting a run rate of somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 premises a month. To put it in layman's language, we are putting enough fibre in the ground or overhead to go from Dublin to Madrid every month, except we are doing it down back lanes and side roads and up mountains, as the Deputy will know from his own area. The progress is good. We have some great teams on the ground. Like anything, there are challenges and risks to that. It is not fully within our own remit over the next two to three years. We are still reliant on Eir's make-ready work and on local authorities granting licences and we are hoping that no further pandemics hit us. As we are progressing through this, we are making progress and we can see ourselves finishing within that period, providing nothing hits us sideways.