Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That is a useful contribution. I understand the NBI was before the communications committee yesterday discussing these topics.

Deputy Colm Burke asked how the roll-out plan is going and when there will be a catch-up. The NBI was asked that specific question yesterday and its answer was that it expects that it will catch up by 2023. There are delays. The number of homes that have been passed is approximately only going to be half of what it should have been by the end of this year and a large portion of that is due to Covid restrictions and the inability to get the staff to get to the places during that time. It is not just an excuse because it has affected the commercial operators that I have been speaking to, who have had the same problems outside of the Government contract. We have a squeeze on at the start and then we are trying to accelerate at the end so it is a complex project to get it done.

See this speech in context