Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I ask the Deputy to give me a chance to answer the question in my own way. We discussed a range of issues pertaining to broadband and telecommunications. The €200 million figure to which Deputy Broughan refers was reported in a Sunday newspaper but, to my recollection, it was never mentioned in any conversation I had with Mr. Danon or Mr. Comb nor did I hear it confirmed by either following publication of the speculative article which mentioned it. We discussed the issue of providing nationwide broadband services and, as was the case with other private sector operators in this field during the 12 to 18 months in which I have dealt with them, they have pointed out they are in the business to make money and to give their shareholders a return. Their basic attitude is, while it is very laudable for the Government and Opposition Members to desire nationwide broadband, do not ask the private sector to pay for it. That is the real world in which we live. Even before Mr. Danon and Mr. Comb joined the scene, a number of providers predicted that certain areas of the country will not have broadband for the foreseeable future if we are not prepared to invest directly.

We have been aware of the issue since 2001 or 2002 and have established the county and group broadband scheme to address it. While that scheme has been successful in allowing communities to become involved, it is somewhat slow in terms of developing the type of coverage I would like to see in this country. For that reason, we are now considering the issue raised by Deputy Durkan with regard to bringing nationwide broadband to the last 10% or 15%. Discussions are ongoing in respect of how we might achieve that target and how we could shape a tendering process.

See this speech in context