Taoiseach defends under fire Naughten

Communications Minister Denis Naughten has been accused of “contaminating” the tendering process for the State’s multimillion-euro national broadband contract.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had to defend the minister in the Dáil, claiming a meeting Mr Naughten had in July with David McCourt, head of the sole remaining consortium bidding for the Government’s rural broadband scheme, was “administrative”.