Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Whether that is true, the Minister can confirm to me. The simple fact is that the process, at this stage, does not have the confidence of the people who expect to be served. Certainly, I do not have confidence in it. It is the Minister's prerogative. He has responsibility and, if he chooses to ignore the outcome of tomorrow's vote, let it be on his head.

If the Minister gives any credibility to the Members here who are as serious as he is about a policy position to deliver broadband to those people, we need more than just information on the map, the intervention area, the covered area, the areas which will have duplicate and triplicate services and so on. What we want is broadband for all of the reasons I have outlined. As the Minister knows well, that is what his constituents want. I ask the Minister to go back to Government and to then come forward with a credible proposal to review the process. The Minister mentioned in a briefing the other day that he had a plan B. Perhaps he might share that with me and my colleague across the House. We might then have some confidence that the Minister, his Department and the 80 external advisers have thought this through. I might then be prepared to accept the Minister's bona fides and those of the State on the delivery of this contract.

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