Ms Michele Connolly:

I will make a number of comments. The Deputy referenced €2.95 billion as the amount of money the State will spend. I should point out that €2.95 billion is the maximum the State will spend.

There is a subsidy of €2.1 billion within that amount and an allowance for contingencies, as well as an element of VAT. That figure is also subject to a significant level of clawback during deployment, operations and at the end of the contract. Regarding the Deputy's comments on the board, the contract provides for a significant level of oversight and governance of the project by the Government. That is one of the areas where we have been very strong in our recommendations. We stated the Government needed to have the skills and resources required for all of those protections to operate effectively.

That governance includes a strong performance regime. It also includes significant reporting obligations to ensure there is openness and transparency within this vehicle. Those reporting obligations will be on a monthly, quarterly and an annual basis. Also included in governance is the ability for the Government to go in and benchmark the cost of operations of this vehicle. In addition, governance includes an ability for the Government to assess, at key points throughout deployment, the extent to which things are proceeding according to plan or not, as the case may be. The Government also has a representative on the board of directors of this entity but it derives its primary protections through the governance mechanisms within the contract.