The Taoiseach said the rollout of rural broadband was as important to the country as rural electrification had been in the 1940s. Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley criticised Mr Naughten, saying Eir’s withdrawal represents an unmitigated failure on the part of government, and leaves over 540,000 households in serious limbo. Green party leader Eamon Ryan said: “To lose one bidder for the national broadband scheme was unfortunate. “This is a serious setback, and the government must outline a clear, comprehensive response to Eir’s withdrawal,” he said. In a statement, the Enet-SSE consortium confirmed its continued interest in the Government’s broadband process.

Source: The Irish Times January 31, 2018 14:57 UTC