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

I can understand the Deputy's concern that this has taken considerable time. The truth is that without the intervention we have proposed, the constituents the Deputy represents would never be reached. We know the commercial system would not deliver reliable high-speed, future-proofed broadband to almost a quarter of the country. That is the reason we have this scheme in place. Unlike the Deputy, some people have cast doubt on whether this is an important or necessary investment. I believe it is absolutely important. I cannot envisage any prosperous future for rural Ireland that did not have at its heart access to high-speed broadband. I am fully committed to delivering this as quickly as possible but I think the Deputy will understand that I also have to be careful to conduct due diligence to make sure that every i is dotted and every t is crossed to protect both the State and the future users of the service.

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