Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The private sector companies have delivered broadband to date and not the Government. This is a multibillion euro project. It is not a laughing matter. I asked the Taoiseach a very serious question. This is a new consortium. Is it the new norm that in a major tendering process organised by Government the bidder can change at the last minute? There is an uneasy silence about this. It is being glossed over. It might not suit people to directly analyse and assess this. I believe it raises fundamental questions about how we go about tendering major State contracts. A State subsidy of up to €500 million is involved here.

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