The Taoiseach has cast fresh doubt over the National Broadband Plan after confirming the cost of delivering a high-speed internet service will be "many multiples" of what was budgeted.
Leo Varadkar has said a cost-benefit analysis is currently being carried out and the Government will have to decide whether it is now affordable to provide broadband to every home in the country.
"Because the cost will be many multiples of what had been anticipated originally, it will have an impact on the public finances and the events of the next couple of weeks will help us to decide whether we can bear that in the public finances," Mr Varadkar said.
Pressed by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin in the Dáil, Leo Varadkar said the broadband plan (NBP) is not the same as the National Children's Hospital as no contracts had been signed.
Mr Martin described the NBP, dogged by controversy and delays, as a "torturous slow process" with many promises made and not fulfilled. He said the only activity had been in the private sector.
"Many tracts of the country are without the technology that is essential for new industries, for new businesses and for the daily activities of life and commerce," said Mr Martin, pointing to Co Leitrim where only 58% of homes had access to broadband.
Mr Varadkar said enormous progress had been made in the past three years with around 80% of properties hooked up to high-speed broadband, However, around 500,000 homes and businesses are still without the service.
"As things stand there is one remaining bidder and that bidder has not yet been designated by the Government as the preferred bidder and some due diligence is still underway in relation to the tender," he said.
"We have now received the tender, it is many multiples of what the original estimate was but very different of course to the children's hospital, for example, we have not yet taken the decision to designate the remaining bidder as the preferred bidder nor have we signed any contracts for the project and that's a decision yet to be made, it's a decision that we want to be very transparent about.
Mr Varadkar said an international review panel was carrying out due diligence in "making sure the project makes sense from a cost-benefit point of view".
"We have to see how the public finances can bear it and obviously the events of the next couple of weeks will tell a story in that regard," he said.
Mr Martin inquired when the recommendation would be brought to Government.
"In October, we were told it would be a matter of weeks, is there now a significant question mark over whether this plan is going to be rolled out or not?" he asked.
The Taoiseach said his objective is "to be able to make a decision before Easter".
Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty said, once again, a vital piece of public infrastructure had gone way over budget and had been left at the mercy of a contractor.
“With an original estimated cost for the National Broadband plan of €500m, we are not talking about a small overspend on this project.
"We are talking about a similar or worse overspend than what we have seen so far at the National Children’s Hospital," he said.
