Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

No. It is a case of evolving what is being done in the NRA and applying it to other suitable infrastructure. The NRA and the roads network is the most extensive network for rolling out open access fibre ducting so it is significant and important. However, it is not the only measure which is being progressed and neither is it the only development related to State assets. For example, there is significant deployment of fibre along the gas pipelines and electricity wires.

The question as to whether the one-stop shop will include all State infrastructure, including what are now commercial entities operating within the commercial market, is a valid question. We have to be careful. In my view, it is better to develop those assets not currently in the commercial market and where there may not be a commercial business case for the agency to work with them and to provide the one-stop shop to ensure those non-utilised assets become available. I do not believe it would be right to bring together every single piece of State infrastructure at this time - including those already operating within a commercial market - and to apply a common approach.

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