Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. On a daily basis, the entire process of the national broadband plan is becoming more and more like the national children's hospital debacle

We have claims that this project is different and the costs are not inflated. In my view, these claims do not stand up to scrutiny. Today, we have heard a claim by the Taoiseach, one which we heard previously, that the national broadband plan is not the original broadband plan and is some sort of new more expensive plan. That claim does not stand up. I draw the Minister of State's attention to a statement made by the then Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Pat Rabbitte, in 2012 that the Government's commitment was to high-speed broadband availability throughout the country during its lifetime. That was the Government of 2012 that lasted until 2016. The crucial point is that he stated there would be a minimum of 30 Mbps for every remaining home and business in the country no matter how rural or how remote. That lends a lie or mistruth to the Taoiseach's assertion in the Dáil today that what was envisaged back then is different from what is envisaged now. He needs to come to the House and correct the record. Back then, the expectation was that the State would invest approximately €500 million. The plan has not changed.

We also now have new revelations about the potential cost of the broadband plan. Today, the Taoiseach announced to the House that rather than the original estimate of €500 million, it is now expected to cost taxpayers €3 billion. When the plan began the objective was clear. There was an expectation the Government would spend in the region of €500 million to subsidise the creation of a fibre broadband network, which industry sources had estimated at the time would cost approximately €1.5 billion to build. We are dealing with an overspend greater than that of the national children's hospital.

The two major industry players, SIRO and Eir, pulled out before ever submitting a tender, believing the Government was not prepared to commit the necessary funds to deliver the rural broadband plan. In the Dáil today, the Taoiseach confirmed the remaining bidder, a private investment firm based in Boston with limited experience in the Irish market, expects €3 billion of taxpayers' money to build a project that everybody else estimated would cost €1.5 billion.

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