Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is a good question and one that has preoccupied me for some time. The national accounts had pencilled in a figure of €178 million which goes directly into the maw of the Exchequer. It is a very valuable national resource, after all. However, when I was progressing the national broadband plan I took care to get commitments that the €350 million investment envisaged will be available, with the Government providing one half and the other half from the private sector. The money goes directly to the Exchequer but we have to engage in this mapping exercise to which I referred earlier. The State is intervening where the private telecommunications providers are unable or unwilling to provide a service. In order to pass muster with the state aids obligations at Brussels, we must undertake a detailed mapping of the country to highlight the areas where the private sector will not do the business. Unfortunately, this exercise takes time. The state aids procedure which we must undergo is painfully slow. I hope I have answered the Deputy's main question.

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