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

Obviously, I cannot give a date for the roll out because a final tender has been submitted and unless or until that is accepted by the Government there will be no announcement in that regard. If the proposal is accepted, the Government and the contractor will be in a position to announce a date for roll out and so on.

I cannot comment on the issue of the availability of staff. Clearly, there is advice on how one should manage such meetings. I do not wish to comment in that regard other than to note that the auditor considered that some of the meetings were a cause for concern. However, crucially, when he examined the context in which those meetings occurred, he concluded that neither Deputy Naughten nor Mr. David McCourt were in a position to influence the tender process. In that sense, his conclusion is clear.

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