Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious of the point made by the Deputy, and other Deputies in a Private Members' debate last week. I have the same inclination as the Deputy in respect of public assets. It is important to note, however, that the asset we are purchasing is not like the Telecom Éireann asset, which was a full copper network that covered every corner of the country. We are purchasing part of a network by building onto a network that is in private ownership. The private sector has spent €2 billion developing this network to which we will connect a further 1 million homes. This is akin to buying a car without an engine and part of the problem is that we are not buying a full car.

The Government weighed up the commercial stimulus model and had regard to the full impact of the full concession model on the Government balance sheet over the period in question. We made our decision based on this impact and the delays in the roll-out of broadband that would arise under the second model.

See this speech in context