Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the Taoiseach asked belatedly for the Opposition to back the Government's decision on the broadband plan. He did so in full electioneering mode with little genuine regard for people’s legitimate concerns about the Government's decision. I do not believe he has played up front with the Opposition or indeed the public on this issue. He did not engage comprehensively with the Opposition on the issue prior to making his decision as he said he would. Crucially, he did not reveal the serious and comprehensive opposition from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to the plan until after the Government’s decision was taken and at a late stage in a desperate bid to avoid any questions last week on Leaders’ Questions.

The primary function of the Opposition is to hold the Government to account and to ask the hard questions on value for money, the public spending code and the delayed roll-out of broadband. The public is annoyed and frustrated at the long delays because, after all, this project was announced back in 2012 but has not yet been delivered. Even with what has been announced, people are talking about another seven to ten years for a full roll-out.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach declared it would be an ambitious and expensive plan. I remind him that it is not his money but the taxpayers’ money. He is electioneering and playing politics with large sums of taxpayers’ money. Taxpayers are increasingly angry at the cavalier approach which has been shown to date. Signing this contract, for example, means an extra €500 million has to be found between 2019 and 2022. An additional €1.5 billion has to be found in the national development plan, over and above the €800 million already allocated for the plan. This funding is on top of the additional funding of €385 million required for the national children's hospital over the next three years. There is no provision anywhere for this funding, despite the Opposition asking basic questions as to where the funding will come from.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach stood over the cost-benefit analysis. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform pointed out - I do not know if the Taoiseach has read the memo - that in the final version changes were made to the cost-benefit analysis reducing the benefits of the project by a total of over €1 billion. We learned from Harry McGee, who deals with this well in today’s The Irish Times, that as the benefits were reduced in the final version, the costs to the operator of the cost-benefit analysis were also reduced miraculously – “fortuitously” in the words of the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform - by over €1 billion due to an error unspotted in all previous iterations. In summary, he stated the cost-benefit analysis is not credible and it is questionable whether it is consistent with the public spending code.

Will the Taoiseach agree to a full inquiry at the Oireachtas communications committee where legitimate concerns can be discussed and responded to? Will he tell me where the additional funds required for this plan, as well as the additional moneys for the children's hospital, will be found between 2019 and 2022? Does he still stand over the cost-benefit analysis?

On questions I asked yesterday on Granahan McCourt Capital, GMC, and David McCourt’s brother’s companies, what evidence was obtained by the Department to ensure it has full legal recourse to the resources of McCourt Global LLC and the Tetrad Corporation which GMC relied upon for its financial underpinning?

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