Mr. T.J. Malone:

It is on time and on budget. We were behind at the early stages. We were given eight and a half months' relief from the Department because it recognised there were difficulties due to Covid. That said, we are back on track for the original timeframe. We will not use that eight and half months. It is there for us to use if we need to use it as relief, but we will not use it.

We were put back on the original timeline and budget with an additional 30,000 customers who were not in the contract that was originally signed. There were 537,000 customers when we signed the contract and there will now be between 564,000 and 567,000 customers by the end of 2026, which is the original seven-year timeframe. The Deputy is correct on the penalties. Some €2.7 million was imposed in penalties levied against us from the Government for delays at the early stages, but there is also a mechanism in the contract to reimburse those penalties if we accelerate the programme. We are now on track to get that €2.7 million back.