Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I agree entirely with the Deputy. One of the areas I discussed with the vice president of the European Investment Bank, who has the wonderful name of Plutarchos Sakellaris, was that of wind energy and other alternative energy sources. It has already invested in infrastructure and also wants to invest directly in wind farms, which was one of the matters we discussed this afternoon.

On broadband infrastructure, I am anxious not to use scarce public moneys or even scarce borrowed moneys to displace commercial investment that is happening anyway. A very significant capital investment in broadband is happening. Deputy Wallace will know that Eircom has just made a very significant investment in Wexford, a town we both represent, which now has a very high level of broadband of 150 megabit. That level of investment is happening across the country in different ways. Satellite technology is being used. I do not want to dislodge investment that is coming from the commercial companies in any event. I have asked my colleague to investigate the significant amount of money put into MANs. In Wexford very few people are using the MAN after a significant investment. We need to ensure we do not just invest money for the sake of it and that we get real value for money and it drives jobs and investment.

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