Mr. Ciarán Ó hÓbáin:

With regard to the ESB, at corporate level the company was involved in the SIRO bid and withdrew from the process. In terms of an infrastructure provider, as Mr. Neary outlined, the country is broken into 110 deployment areas. When it comes to the point of designing the low level design for how to reach the 5,000 premises within the deployment area the bidder will be looking at all existing infrastructure and options. It will predominantly be based on the Eir network but it will also look at using the ESB infrastructure.

We have discussed the 300,000 premises previously. The procurement had a process that recognised one is operating in a live market and the environment is subject to change and that telecommunications companies could come forward with proposals that could impact on the procurement for the intervention on the map. Eir engaged with that process. It was assessed and it was concluded that it had followed the process, it was consistent with state aid rules and the 300,000 premises were removed from the map.

That had some implications for the procurement process in terms of costs, benefits and duration. The learning from that and from operating in a live environment has influenced the approach to the contract, which is to recognise that as we go forward over the next 25 years, this bidder with a contract will be operating in a market that is subject to change, so in the contract we have sought to tie down and close out the areas of risk in that market because we cannot anticipate exactly the direction of travel of such change.

Senator O'Reilly will be aware that for public representatives in rural Ireland and that in parliamentary questions to the Minister, the most topical issue relates to the people who live closest to the Eir 300k because they are getting a wonderful service over the Eir 300k and their neighbours are envious. We are seeking to fill that void through the NBP.