"The Government's decision to choose a preferred bidder for the National Broadband Plan is a significant day in the history of our country," announces Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach, speaking in the Irish Times. "The plan will ensure that every home, school, farm and business across the country has access to high-speed broadband", he continued. He goes on to say that "broadband will be the biggest investment ever made in rural Ireland".
The Irish National Broadband Plan will provide broadband to a quarter of the Irish people and premises that cannot currently access high-speed broadband through commercial services. It will provide reliable, very high-specification broadband access for 1.1 million people, 540 000 premises and over 600 schools, thereby giving digital technology opportunities to the whole of Ireland.