Mr. Mark Griffin:

It is a Department-sponsored project. The money will come directly from the Department's Vote. We have looked at governance arrangements to be put in place after the contract award and we are still at the early stages of that. The last programme for Government referred to setting up an agency that would pull together the NBP, the MANs, ECAS and perhaps some other State infrastructure of a broadband nature under a single State entity so it could be managed by the right people who have the right commercial skills and can generate maximum value for the State. All of that will require legislation. However, as things stand, the responsibility for this project rests with the Department.