Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I listened very carefully to every word the Minister said. He said the final tender has been submitted and will be considered in the days, weeks and months ahead by his Department. He told me almost a year ago that it was in the final stages but he and I knew at that stage that it was not in the final stages, that nobody had sight of anything and that it was lost in a legal, financial and logistical mire. That is the truth of it. I ask the Minister to tell me the number of people who have been working on the tendering process and the length of time that has been going on.

The Minister has only one bidder left in the process. He has no plan B. It is either Enet or he calls a halt to the process. It is not just Sinn Féin saying that. Earlier this year, Professor John FitzGerald, speaking in respect of State contracts, stated: "If there is no queue of suppliers there will be no savings for the State." I told the Minister a year ago that if one was going to the market to sell a calf, a bullock or anything else, if there was only one buyer, one would be better off turning around and bringing the bullock back home. The Minister knows that is the case, as someone who is living in a rural area.

The Minister has chosen the privatisation and Enet model, Enet being the only company that can do that. He has not been able to tell us the size of the blank cheque this will cost taxpayers. We want to see this plan rolled out. We believe this process has been like a slow bicycle race.

The programme for Government sates: "We will...provide additional exchequer capital, if needed, to deliver on our commitment to bring next generation broadband to every house and business in the country by 2020." It also states: "Once the contract is awarded the rollout phase will begin immediately". We are now 15 months from 2020. The taxpayer will now subsidise the company that now has control of the network - Eir - to hang cables on poles erected by the taxpayers and by public funds from this State.

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