Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I cannot give the Deputy a precise date, nor have I ever. Due diligence has to be undergone, Cabinet Ministers have to be briefed, the Cabinet has to meet, a decision has to be made and a preferred bidder has to be appointed, or not.

Deputy McDonald questioned my beliefs. I am of the view that Sinn Féin would probably have opposed rural electrification if it had been around during that period. Sinn Féin representatives would have stated that it would cost too much, that it was not necessary and that people in rural Ireland did not need electricity. That would have been the Sinn Féin view. We have seen Sinn Féin's approach to infrastructure in Northern Ireland, the renewable heating scandal and everything it has done there. We have seen how, in this State, infrastructure has come on leaps and bounds and overtaken infrastructure in Northern Ireland. I have no doubt that Sinn Féin would have opposed rural electrification and it is very likely that Sinn Féin will oppose rural broadband as well.

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