Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

The Minister said he has ongoing discussions with the industry. Has he spoken to the executive chairperson, Mr. Pierre Danon, and the chief executive, Mr. Rex Comb, of Eircom about their proposal to enable broadband supply throughout the country for €200 million? They gave that estimate for dealing with split lines, exchanges, remote rural areas and so forth. Has the Minister met Mr. Danon and Mr. Comb to discuss this proposal? Has the Minister carried out a cost benefit analysis of the enablement of all parts of the country? In the Estimates the Minister apparently provided €10 million for this purpose. If Eircom estimates the cost of the job at €200 million, why is the Minister only allocating €10 million?

Will the Minister engage in a tendering process, as the British Government did in Northern Ireland? That process was won by BT and it gave Northern Ireland 100% broadband enablement. We have not yet attained that target. Will the Minister engage in a tendering process or will he make a special deal with Eircom? Given the level of State expenditure that would be necessary, is the Minister prepared to take a stake in Eircom in return for financial support to the company?

The Minister always refers to the MANs in replies to questions about broadband provision. However, we know the MANs do not solve the local loop or the last mile problems. Have we not already spent €120 million on the MANs project? Is it not the case that e-Net, the company administering the MANs, last year lost €4 million and is still losing money? Has the Minister received a proposal from e-Net on enabling broadband throughout the country or does he expect that company to engage in a tendering process? In other words, if the Minister advertised a tender for broadband, would he expect e-Net to make a bid alongside Eircom, BT and anyone else who wished to do so?

What is the Minister's opinion of the Labour Party's proposal to make Dublin city a wireless enabled zone so that broadband could be freely accessed in the city centre business and commercial district?

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