Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In other words, the contract includes a buy back at the valuation of the fibre network at the end of 25 years. That is the impression I am getting. If the company continues it further, it continues to own it for another ten years. If it chooses not to do that, you are saying the State buys back the product. This leads to my follow-up question. In public private partnerships, PPPs, the funding model for the motorways, at the end of what we will call the concession period of 25 years it is up to the company that builds the motorway to give the road back to the State in the same condition it was on the first day. It must maintain the road to the highest standard to the last day and give it back in full working order at the end of the 25 years. That does not appear to be happening here.

The PPP model of funding is very close to what we are talking about here in that the State put in significant money and the private sector put in some money. They got the money from the toll or the usage charge, exactly as whoever is the bidder here will get the usage charges. It is identical in many ways to one or two of the motorway schemes that are run on a concession basis with a condition that, at the end of the concessionary period, they would hand it back to the State in the same condition as it was in on day one. Is that happening here? I am looking at lessons learned in other areas. I am sorry to be getting into this but it concerns the specifics of the contract. If I do not ask, our successors will be here arguing and asking did we not do our work.