Minister for Finance: Paschal Donohoe announces the national broadband plan. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins
The Irish State is going to pay the lion’s share of the upfront cost of rolling out broadband around the country and then is going to gift this infrastructure to a private investment company. Take that in. The private company has the potential to sell off these assets at a profit – even if the State allows itself some clawback of such funds. That is what private companies tend to do.