Results 21,081-21,100 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Project Ireland 2040 (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: 73. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the major public transport projects under construction or that are in the planning and-or rail order process. [22093/19]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: My questions relate to the two letters, one from Robert Watt of 16 April, the other the response from the Secretary General of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Mark Griffin, of 24 April. Mr. Ó hÓbáin said it was a matter of accident what side of the line a civil servant might be on, but I would always be on the side of the Department of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: It is not insignificant if we need to use our contingencies. If the State is investing €3 billion, the actual cost of the project is €3.25 billion, because that is the total when the €10 million is added for 25 years, even if it is not index linked. This additional cost has not been discussed in the public arena.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: My father used to say one can never take the salt out of the soup. My experience suggests that, once there is an allocation of €10 million to a Department from central Exchequer funding, it is never withdrawn. Budgets are never cut unless there are dramatic events.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: My support for the Department is based on previous experience with the national broadband scheme which we introduced. It had similar characteristics in that we ended up with a single bidder. The speeds were not the same - we had 3 Mbps - and the design and contract arrangements were done in two years, after which we delivered very quickly. One of the differences, however, is that we were...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: At that stage, both SSE and Laing had already departed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: They are mainly using contractors. I cannot remember the name. It was previously Siteserv but it is now-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: When I was Minister, we delivered the MANs. The model used was that the Department managed the overall contract development or the delivery. The Department was the central co-ordinator of all these contracting companies and delivered the networks. In a sense, the Department played the role that Granahan McCourt is playing, namely, it managed the contractors. Given that we are paying...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: How many full-time people are on its team here?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: Most of those are advisers and people contracted rather than full-time staff.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: My recollection is that the biggest risk in the national broadband plan, and one of the biggest difficulties, was in the billing schemes because it is dealing with 500,000 people. My understanding of this project is that because it involves wholesale access, NBI will not be a direct retail company. It will not have Mrs. Murphy from Ballyhaunis ringing. She will ring Sky or Eir.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: I would like to finish this point. That is the most difficult aspect, a system network set up to bill a direct customer. It will not have any customers ringing it. They will not be able to contact NBI.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: In his recent letter, Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which has expertise, stated that the operation is projected to have a rate of return of we do not know what, which seems very high given the risk profile of its investment. Mr. Griffin stated in response that if it goes wrong and we are not happy instead of achieving that very high...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: Why is it commercially sensitive?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: They have a downside, no-risk minimum of a 5% return on capital-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: No, Mr. Griffin's letter says that they only get a 5% return where the business underperforms. It does not refer to termination.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: I take the point that it is not a guarantee but a hypothesis. Let us say the figure is 15% or 20%. That is the return on their initial capital investment of €175 million and that is ongoing over the lifetime of the project. I presume it goes up if they put more capital in and so forth. Why do they end up owning the asset? If they get a rate of return of 15% or 20%, that would be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: Mr. Watt is concerned that at one of the possible break points or at the end of the period, the existing operator might have to be paid for the asset or be otherwise compensated. The asset is the fibre and the whole network. It is not a small asset. That is a very valuable asset in a world where fibre is going to be hugely important.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: I have one last question. It is full of risks and the job of the political system sometimes is to take risks. I am perfectly willing to take risks in funding the provision of fibre broadband to rural Irish homes. However, given the fact that we are potentially investing €3.25 billion while the developer is investing €175 million, I see no reason not to go for a concession...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan: Discussion (22 May 2019)

Eamon Ryan: The downside risk that the ESB and others saw was that it might not be the case with all landowners. Any time one tries to do anything in Ireland, getting access to land can be problematic. Even though it would not take more than an hour or two to run a cable across a field, access could be an issue. What if we had tackled that issue and had got agreement from rural Ireland on it because...