Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 May 2019

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

National Broadband Plan: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

Photo of Barry CowenBarry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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There are two. The Minister said the risk is capped from the State's perspective. That is based on the assumption that NBI has the capacity to soak up any associated risk that it may incur. What lock system is in place in the contract to ensure that is the case? If there is none, the State will still be left carrying the can anyway.

That is why I said NBI is made up of Tetrad and Granahan McCourt Ireland. Have they the capacity to meet the demands of the State in the event of this project going belly up? Joe Public wants to know whether those entities have the capacity to meet the penalties or the extra costs they may incur because if they have not, the State will be left to carry the can. The Minister has said that the State's expenditure has been capped and he must have done that because the contract will be so tight.