Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The procurement process in the national broadband plan is not yet concluded. Both Eir and the ESB, as partners, were bidders for the national broadband contract but withdrew their bids. At the time of their withdrawal, the Eir bid was comparable to that of the remaining bidder in the amount of €2.7 billion. Very detailed negotiations and due diligence was conducted and the Government agreed, on my recommendation, to the appointment of a preferred bidder. The award of preferred bidder is now subject to contract close, including the finalisation of financial and legal documents.

The possibility of allocating the national broadband State intervention to the ESB was considered as part of the published alternative options analysis conducted by my Department. The Attorney General advised that there would be significant legal risks in respect of both procurement and state aid law, were the State to mandate and fund directly, outside a procurement process, any economic undertaking. This would include a commercial entity like Eir or a commercial semi-State entity such as the ESB carrying out the national broadband plan.

Furthermore, engagement between officials of my Department and DG Competition, which is the Directorate General of the European Commission with responsibility for state aid matters, has clearly established that it is the view of DG Competition that it would not be possible to provide a State subsidy to an economic undertaking, such as the ESB or Eir, to roll out the national broadband plan without undertaking a new public procurement process.

However, the existing infrastructure owned by Eir and the ESB network will be used by National Broadband Ireland where this represents the most effective use of existing infrastructure at a local deployment level. I understand from their recent appearances at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment that both entities will support this.

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