Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late in. I assume many of the questions have been asked. The decision taken by Government some years ago was the right one in the face of much opposition. A lot of credit has to go to former TD Denis Naughten in his role as Minister at the time. He drove this project on and we would not be this far on if those decisions had not been taken. It is important to put on record the work he did.

I assume the witnesses have spoken about the storm and repair times for connections. Where are they at? What is the coverage of schools and nursing homes across the country? I will be parochial. Do the witnesses have an update on my home county of Longford? When will each part of the county be covered?

Everyone is switching providers because of costs and deals that are being done after 12 months with one company. I do not understand the difference in the service. There seems to be a different strength from different providers, despite the fact it is the one network. In the village where I live, the local exchange is at the bottom of my garden, yet some people 2 miles out the road have a better service than I do.