Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Thank you. I propose to note and publish the aforementioned correspondence and hopefully the evaluation that is under way will shed some further light on the matter.

No. 782B is fromMr. Mark Griffin, Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, dated 11 August 2021 providing information requested by the committee relating to the national broadband plan, NBP. The Secretary General sets out progress on the project and states that "Momentum is building on the project and as of 30 July over 12,000 premises are passed and available for connection; this compares to the 4,000 referenced in my letter of 7 July." According to the correspondence, a further 8,000 premises have been passed and are ready for connection, although not connected yet. Information in also provided on the use of existing infrastructure.

Regarding penalty clauses, the correspondence sets out the nature of the contract and its provisions for dealing with delays. In terms of unprecedented events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the contractor can seek additional time to meet contract milestones and, in those circumstances, no penalties apply. In other circumstances, the contract provides that penalty provisions relating to delays to delivery of the network apply to any delays that occur from the end of contract year two, which will be 1 February 2022. Should the contractor miss milestones from that date, penalties will apply for the duration of the build period. Therefore, no penalties are applicable to the current delays. It is proposed that we note and publish this correspondence. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Last week, we agreed to engage with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on 14 October and we will request an up-to-date briefing on the contract in advance of that meeting. I am flagging this correspondence because this is a major issue given the size of the capital project involved. While the response sets out that the Department can withhold payment, it does not set out penalties as they were described to me and to others in the Dáil Chamber prior to the contract being signed. In the section of the correspondence that refers to penalty clauses in the contract, the Secretary General writes that subsidies will only be released on achievement of the contract milestones. In other words, the contractor will only get paid for the work that is done but the clear commitment at that time, as I recall it and which is on the record of the Dáil, was that there would actually be specific penalties.

In his reply on that section he went on to state that the contract makes provisions for dealing with delays in the delivery of the network arising from unprecedented events such as Covid-19 and that NBI can seek additional time and no penalties would apply. He said the penalty provisions relating to delays in the delivery of the network are applicable with respect to any delays that occur from the end of year 2 of the contract. There should not have been a big delay because work on telecommunications were operational throughout the Covid period, as I recall. I am open to correction on this from other committee members. There was no suspension of work on communications works during that period. The first paragraph of his reply dealing with the penalty clauses in the contract is of concern to me.

In his reply he said reporting on costs and revenues to the Department would subsequently be released only on achievement of the contract milestones which are verified through an independent certification process. This means that NBI is only paid a subsidy when the milestones have been met and verified. There is clearly no penalty. That was confirmed by the Minister in the Dáil. NBI will come before the committee on 14 October and it is essential that we raise these matters with it. This process could drag on for a considerable period of time. Deputy Murphy wished to raise this as well.