Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Arguably, that is progress. How was that deal done and why did Eir do that deal but a few short months later, completely and utterly pulled the plug? We all have our theories on what is happening but it is incumbent on the Minister, perhaps not during Private Members' time tonight, but certainly tomorrow when we have statements, to clarify the correspondence he has sent to every Member on his interaction with Eir. There are serious questions in that regard.

We all have scenarios in our constituencies of relevance to this issue. There is one pocket or enclave of 12 houses in my constituency, for example, where Eir came within 12 poles on either side before stopping the roll out. That is typical of west Cork and parts of Kilkenny. If one were to move around the Chamber, Members from every county would have an articulation of the very scenario I have just painted. The question now is whether the last bidder, in effect the winner given the scenario we are in, can come in and plug that gap. There is some scepticism out there, including on my part, given that it is reasonable to wonder what price it will take for the last bidder standing to come in and close the loop in those black spots if Eir could not do so within the current competitive architecture. Will that bidder in fact be able to name its price and hold the Government to ransom as a result?

I am conscious of the time and those are just some of the issues we have. We will support the motion, but we do so under advisement in circumstances where there is a further opportunity for the Minister to come to the House tomorrow for statements. It is an opportunity for him, without using any couching language, to clarify matters for everybody here and outside who is depending on the national broadband plan, as well as on him for answers, and to set out his stall. He has come out fighting tonight, for which I give him credit, but he has stood over the facilitation of a crucial market share for a monopolistic player. The Minister will answer the point tomorrow night and I will give him time to think about it. There are still question marks over why it was done. I appreciate that a commitment was given to bring in 300,000 players, but where stands SIRO now? What is the nature of the communications with SIRO and does it exist as an entity? What are those other players doing within the market? Are they creating parallel processes or networks on which they can deliver products? There are a lot of questions but time, unfortunately, is against me. I look forward to having this debate with the Minister again tomorrow evening.

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