Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Under state aid rules, we cannot do that. I agree with the Deputy that fibre is likely to be the technology we need to deliver these services but we cannot specify it. I have already told the House that we will go to procurement by the end of December. We hope to have a bidder or bidders in place by the middle of 2016. I have told them that it will take between three and five years to build the entire network.

See this speech in context