Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Of course, that is a possibility. The process has been a competitive dialogue which three parties entered. They developed a high spec proposal to deliver broadband to homes. They will use all existing infrastructure to minimise the added cost, but nonetheless delivering broadband with a speed higher than 100 Mbps to every single house in the country will be an expensive process. The Government will have to decide whether the price, the value, the technology and the governance process are fit for State backing.

See this speech in context