Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for a detailed reply. I accept there are some impressive CVs on the forum. Will the Minister explain the reason he chose not to have any current business users of broadband services in Ireland on that forum? It would surely have made sense to ask businesses and consumers what they need, the speeds they need, what services they can access, how much they pay and whether they are satisfied with it. I would be surprised if the Minister was not receiving letters of concern from industry and business leaders about the lack of telecommunications infrastructure. The purpose was to examine international best practice but I would have thought the Minister could have benefited from the expertise and views of existing broadband users in Ireland, particularly when one considers the number of foreign companies in Ireland.

In terms of rapid roll-out of next generation broadband, countries such as France and Scandinavian countries are the success stories in Europe yet no one from these countries will attend. While there is a representative from Japan, he is the only person from the Middle East or the Far East with significant success in this area. Could the Minister outline the process that led to the appointment of these people? Were there terms of reference, a skill set demand or did the Department use its contacts in putting together a group of people with whom it had past correspondence or contact?

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