Dr. Dónal Palcic:

In fairness, Eir has a substantial wholesale operation business, a retail business and a mobile element. Eir is involved in a lot of other things beyond just a wholesale broadband operator. Eir has invested in recent years in fibre roll-out mainly in urban areas and now in the 300,000 premises. Of course there are parts of rural Ireland where poles are falling down, as the Deputy mentioned, and things like that so there has not been massive investment. Eir is involved in so many other things that the value is a very different situation. Eir took 300,000 premises out of the area, which obviously had an impact in terms of competitive tension, the cost of subsidy, etc. A lot of that subsidy is going to renting the actual poles and ducts.