Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)

In fairness to the Minister, he knows his subject area. Not unlike the Liverpool football team, which I follow, it is a good thing on paper. Much of the Minister's theory is very good on paper.

Getting down to the basics, we are discussing next generation broadband but we are in the business of playing catch-up with countries I mentioned, such as Finland, Sweden and Singapore. My fear and that of the public is that the company which wins the tender for the national broadband scheme will resort to using outdated broadband technologies to act as a solution for 100% coverage.

Is now not the time to ensure we are aiming for next generation broadband? The Minister referred to the technicalities, as it will be a new type of system. In what way is that stipulated within the tendering contract?

On the original question, of the 90 MANs, how many are live or running with backhaul?

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