As part of the Ireland 2040 rural regeneration plan, the Government aims to deliver the National Broadband Plan (NBP) which will allow for access to "high-speed, affordable broadband to every home and business in Ireland".

It is planned that this will be achieved through a "combination of accelerated commercial investment and a state intervention in those parts of the country where there is no certainty that the private sector will invest".

However, today's announcement provides no definitive details regarding the NBP in relation to costs or, crucially, the completion date of the plan. Instead, the amount of Exchequer funds to be injected into rural broadband is marked "confidential".

Last month Eir withdrew from the tendering process for the NBP, meaning that eNet is the sole bidder in the process. The commercial partner of the NBP is set to be announced sometime in 2018.

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Project Ireland 2040 was announced by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe in Sligo on Friday, but provides no further detail on how every farm and home is to be connected to high-speed internet.