Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This should not be made into a political football because we are talking about the most disadvantaged areas in the country. It is not just that people cannot get online and it is nice to get online, but that it affects people's households, families and businesses. If we are to fulfil our ambition to make rural Ireland sustainable, the beginning, middle and end of that is broadband. It connects us to the global economy and that is where we have positioned ourselves. This is a small open economy and we must have that access. A lot of work has been done and we have to drive on with this. Reviewing and slowing it down is an absolute nonsense at this juncture.

There has been a bidding process and to date it has been a valid process. It allows for a single remaining bidder. There is nothing not catered for or envisaged in the process as it has happened. In a perverse way there could be an advantage to what has happened because, instead of having to go around to several bidders that had been validated, the State now has to deal with one bidder. It can cut to the chase, say what it wants and how it will get it done. This bidder will either do it or not. Parameters have already been established.

I agree with several previous speakers that it must be set out in black and white that Enet and the consortium will not hike up prices and I believe there is provision in the whole process for that. The Minister of State might send out that signal loud and clear. That has to be the most serious and legitimate concern about the process and the Government will not be fleeced for this. I do not believe it will be.

This dumbing down of the consortium, Enet-SSE-Airtricity is nonsense. The consortium is a serious contender and must always have been seen as the possible successful bidder notwithstanding all the propaganda from Eir. It has professionalism, know-how, innovation and the finances to back it up. I have had some dealings with Enet, which is a private company but has an exemplary track record in delivering public contracts, and I can speak for that in respect of Mayo. There are six towns in Mayo, Ballina, Kiltimagh, Claremorris, Belmullet, Castlebar and Knock, around the airport. Enet has rolled out MANs, which were innovative technology at the time, and, notwithstanding that some of these MANs have been there for several years, there is still capacity on them. As a wholesale provider it has given everyone a fair crack of the whip. It has a track record. There are two global businesses in Claremorris that operate through the MANs, CBE Software and Delta Dental, which have gone out of their way to praise the work of Enet. SSE-Airtricity has a good track record in rural Ireland, compared with many of the other renewable energy companies. Let us have faith and drive on. The Minister should get down to the nuts and bolts with Enet and the consortium as soon as possible, sort out what needs to be done and go on and let us get our long overdue broadband.