‘Everyone must have access to broadband’: Govt expected to approve plan today

There is an onus on the Government to deliver broadband to rural Ireland, ministers have said ahead of Cabinet debating a €3bn plan to roll out a national high-speed network. Value-for-money concerns are expected to dominate discussion about going ahead with a private-led consortium’s proposals to extend network coverage to rural Ireland.

Today, Communications Minister, Richard Bruton, will bring recommendations to Cabinet to agree to a tender by a group led by Irish-American businessman David McCourt to roll out broadband coverage to 500,000 homes and premises. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has already signalled that the bill could be capped at €3bn.