Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government on page 38 makes a commitment to bring next generation broadband to every house and business in the country by 2020. With yesterday's news that Eir has withdrawn from the tendering process leaving only one bidder, what is the future of the whole tender? Ireland could have been a world leader in telecommunications, but we have had a chain of disasters starting with the privatisation of Telecom Éireann under Fianna Fáil with Deputy Micheál Martin at the Cabinet table, repeatedly selling off State assets to private interests and asset stripping, resulting in Ireland ranking behind Azerbaijan in broadband speed.

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