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

The quicker broadband is delivered to rural Ireland, the better. If it comes on a hare's back it cannot come quickly enough. We are all agreed on that. A significant amount of work has been done, which I will come to in later parliamentary questions, in facilitating the maximum deployment by the commercial operators in this regard. It is a complex procurement process. It is also an unusual one in that we are going through a competitive dialogue procurement process. It means that one is slower to sign the final contract, but it also means that the physical deployment will take place quicker.

As I have said previously, this is a 25-year contract. None of us can afford the mistakes that were made in the past in terms of the electronic voting machines or even the national broadband scheme which was obsolete the day it went live. Irrespective of what side of the House we are on, we are all committed to this. In fairness, every Member's heart is in the right place on this but we have a significant challenge. We must get it right and we will get it right, and it will stand the test of time.

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