An Oireachtas committee is calling on the national broadband network to remain in public ownership.
The Joint Oireachtas Communications Committee has found the National Broadband Plan process was based on a flawed tendering process.
The committee met today to vote on recommendations, and a final report is due to be published soon.
It will now be up to the Government whether to accept the committee's recommendations.
Speaking after today's hearing, Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley claimed the Government had chosen the "worst of all worlds".
He said: "I am pleased to say that the committee has today voted in favour of a recommendation that the Government re-engage with the ESB regarding the National Broadband Plan.
"The ESB has the infrastructure there. The ESB is a competent and trusted communications company. And the State has the authority to mandate the ESB to do the job.
"Most importantly of all, the network would stay in public ownership."
Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley said the committee process has proven there's an "absolute necessity" to get broadband delivered to 540,000 homes and businesses in rural areas.
However, he stressed: "During the course of the tendering process, it clearly became unfit for purpose - that should have been clear to the Government."
He said one of the recommendations of the committee will be for there to be a three-month period to allow for an independent expert "to review the possibility for delivering broadband through a different model".
Recommendations
The Green Party, meanwhile, called on the Government to heed the committee's recommendations.
Party leader Eamon Ryan said: "Our own key recommendations were to retain the network in public ownership and to insure that the cost of connecting to new homes is covered by the householder as a condition of any planning permission.
"We do not believe such changes would require the process to start again from the beginning but they would bring real savings and insure that the state is the final beneficiary of the investment we are about to make."
The Government officially gave the go-ahead for the National Broadband Plan in May, despite concerns from the Department of Public Expenditure over the cost of the €3 billion project.
The consortium led by Granahan McCourt - the sole remaining bidder in the tender process - was named as the preferred bidder.
