Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I am reluctant to give this information until the contracts are signed, which will be within the week. It is better and proper to have that hurdle overcome, and then we may provide the more detailed information. To a certain extent, we must learn from processes in the past, where, for whatever reasons we may have tried to push through a process in terms of procurement, particularly in the telecommunications area, that just ended up getting us into further difficulties. I was particularly pleased in terms of this whole process that even if it took time we were able to work on real detail with the bidding companies, winner and losers, in the process I have set out, to try to ensure that what we contract here is right and meets the public's expectations. It would have been very easy to try to do something quickly, to put it through for political short-term expediency, in order to be seen to be doing something. I believe in the process we have undertaken. Even if it has taken longer than we originally thought, that was in order to get it right.

The service that will be provided will meet with widespread public support. There have been concerns with regard to the start of the roll-out of certain mobile broadband services over the past year. We should recognise those services have just started and there are naturally teething difficulties. That said, we now have approximately 250,000 people who have signed up for such mobile broadband services. We must also recognise that because 40% of our houses are one-off houses in the countryside, we will always be a country where mobile broadband services are in higher demand than in other countries. We may develop a benefit from this, particularly where we can get new evolving mobile, wireless and other connections onto fibre quickly and provide good high quality services.

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