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

As to whether it is fair, it does not really matter whether I think it is fair. These are the European Union rules and I sometimes find some of them to be massively frustrating. However, given that the Government has decided the commercial sector is doing a job in the cities and towns of Ireland which is comparable with anything that happens throughout the European Union and that the very basic quality of broadband in parts of rural Ireland is entirely unacceptable, only a State-led intervention will then address that problem. To pass muster with the European Commission in respect of state aid rules, the Government must engage in a detailed mapping exercise for presentation to the Commission.

If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will permit me to continue for a second, this is somewhat complex, and Deputy Wallace has asked a fundamental question. The Government has engaged consultants in the preparation of this plan and my answer formally states that it will be submitted in the autumn. While I believe it will be submitted before that, it is being done and must be done in consultation with the private commercial operators, because the European principle is that if a commercial operator has a credible plan to provide the service, the Commission will not approve the state aid permission.

See this speech in context