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

That is why the then Minister took the decision. It was not a decision on which he had an option or a unilateral decision he plucked from the back of his head. It was a decision taken because State aid was needed to deliver the process. It is important to bear in mind why this option was chosen. What the State is seeking to secure is not a public utility of the sort we could have considered many years ago before Telecom Éireann was sold. The telecoms network is not a publicly owned asset, it is privately owned. That was a decision taken many years ago and many would say it was a bad decision.

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