National Broadband Plan: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2022-01-27
============================================================

Ossian Smyth (GP), Dún Laoghaire

There really is a comparison here with the rural electrification programme. My grandfather worked on the Shannon electrification scheme, the massive hydropower project of the 1920s. It was his first job and he was employed by Siemens because it was Siemens that did the work. That company was brought in to do it. The work was not carried out by civil servants or even by a private Irish company. It was built by Siemens and that is the reality of what happened.
The Deputy has asked me again but I have twice told her how I can stand over this project. I can stand over it because of the benefits that it brings. It is a hugely beneficial project that every Deputy in this House knows is essential. Anybody who lives outside a major urban centre knows that broadband is essential to people's quality of life and that is why I can stand over it.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2022-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:50:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2022-01-27