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

It was quite justified to provide the extra five weeks requested by companies to have their submissions evaluated. From a state aid perspective, it is clear that we must be satisfied that any intervention area excludes localities that will be provided for commercially and without the granting of state aid. Giving that extra time was justified. I will not follow the Deputy down the route of speculating as to what would happen if different companies or different applications were to emerge. Clearly, this is an important part of the process. Companies must meet the criteria I set out. It would be foolish to speculate on how this might impact on the national broadband plan until that work is done. We should bear in mind that this is not the first time the map has been subject to consultation. There have been opportunities for companies to put forward ideas before against the background of what had to be achieved for future-proofed services. Some companies have indicated that they could do various schemes for much less money but many of those schemes did not meet the standards. We must give new submissions every opportunity to be evaluated in a fair and objective way. That is what is happening.

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