Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 10 February 2022

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters

9:30 am

Mr. Barry Kelly:

It is important to note what that subsidy gets applied to. Over the 25 years of the project, that subsidy can only be applied to up to 92% of the costs of the capital expenditure to build, the capital expenditure to connect, and the use of third-party infrastructure or the rental thereof. Over 25 years of the project, all of the other costs - the bid costs we spoke about, the advisory costs the Deputy asked about, all the operating costs, as well as the balance of the capital expenditure - have to be covered by NBI through either shareholder investment or through revenue generated to the extent that if there is not sufficient revenue generated, that risk stays with NBI.