Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The privatisation of Telecom Éireann was one of the worst political decisions made, and we are still facing the repercussions of that in matters of broadband provision. I went through our earlier exchange on the pension fund. Essentially, €1 billion of additional taxpayers' money will be spent on a company that was privatised in 1999. This is a significant issue in the context of the public finances. It is referenced in chapter 1 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report and it is listed as an item on today's agenda. To be frank, I do not understand why Mr. Hogan cannot provide more information on oversight and developments in that regard. Is it just the case the Irish taxpayers will be bearing the brunt of €1 billion because of an historical misstep, as we have heard before in the committee? Are we going to find out how we ended up in this position?