Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Griffin about the number of consultants involved in the oversight and the legal and technical side of this. Is there anything within the work those consultants are doing that could be done by augmenting the Department? If so, has an application for resources been made? I know this is very different from TII and I accept all that it deals with much larger construction projects. Will Mr. Griffin give us an idea of what the oversight cost is, in regard to the staffing side within the Department? Is that different from what was anticipated? Is there a risk register for missed milestones or issues that were not anticipated? If so, what kind of issues are identified on that register? Are there any concerns that aspects of this contract cannot be fulfilled?

Finally, I refer to the ownership. I asked this of NBI representatives earlier. I am struggling to get a clear picture of who actually owns National Broadband Ireland. The contract itself states it is determined by voting rights. That in itself is determined by who holds the investment or who is entitled to the necessary percentage of dividends, but the threshold is 30%. Oak Hill owns approximately 49% and NBI owns 51%. Who is the actual owner of NBI? I am not at all clear about who owns it. The issue is further confused by the investors coming in and out but let us leave that aside. I would like to get clarity as to the beneficial owner.