Results 26,021-26,040 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: That information was provided by the former Minister at a formal meeting that was fully minuted. He was part of the team and was in a position to indicate that the bid was, in the view of the State, far too expensive. He expressed that opinion, which was absolutely correct. There was nothing wrong with that. He was telling the bidder that the price was too high, as one would expect him to...

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Obviously, I cannot give a date for the roll out because a final tender has been submitted and unless or until that is accepted by the Government there will be no announcement in that regard. If the proposal is accepted, the Government and the contractor will be in a position to announce a date for roll out and so on. I cannot comment on the issue of the availability of staff. Clearly,...

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The evaluation process is nearly complete. It will be completed within weeks and I will be in a position-----

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I will not say that it will be done before Christmas, which is almost upon us. However, it is very advanced. Of course, one can get access to an official. If one schedules a meeting, one will be able to find an official to attend it, depending on convenience and the ability of the appropriate person to attend. I will not offer an opinion on meetings of which I know nothing apart from what...

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I acknowledge what the two Deputies are saying about the importance of hacking on. It has to be said, however, that the auditor process is important. Many acknowledged it was open to interpretation that there might have been a conflict of interest. In practice it has been found that having examined all the evidence, the auditor has concluded what he has. That is the reassuring thing. I...

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Affordability has always been a test, in the commercial area and in any other. The proposal is that, in the vast majority of cases, the service must be available at the same price as in any other area. Obviously, when there is only one bidder left, one has to take far greater care in overseeing the process. That is why it is going on the way it is going on. There is a lot of work being...

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The report has set out the evaluation against the four crucial tests to determine whether any of the meetings that took place could in any way have undermined the fair delivery of the tender. It was concluded that they could not.

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The tenderer will obviously use whatever is available to deliver the service. In the vast majority of cases, it will be existing poles, not new poles. They will be existing poles on the existing networks of others or State networks.

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: It is my understanding that the request - this applies to all the tenderers - was such that 2% could be other than fibre to the home, but that was expandable to 5% in certain conditions. That was a specification. As it evolves, the vast majority of homes will have fibre to the home.

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: These are the sorts of issues in respect of which this State needs to ensure the assumptions being made are reasonable in the first place and determine what would be a fair allocation of risk in the event that the conditions are not fulfilled. That is the sort of issue being dealt with in the detailed evaluation process that has been taking place.

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: It is my understanding that much of the evaluation material will be published so Deputies will be able to see it. There may be elements that cannot be published.

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: It is the same with any selection of a tender. Deputy Bríd Smith did not like me drawing a parallel with another sector about which I have some familiarity. We do not lay out before the Dáil the different people competing for a tender and ask 158 Members to make a decision. That is not the way tenders were decided in the Deputy's time, no more than in my time.

Report on Procurement Process Audit of National Broadband Plan: Statements (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: I will not need five minutes. I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I think everyone acknowledges how hugely important this project is. Internet access is probably more important to rural Ireland than anything else if we want strong rural and regional development. This is the infrastructure of the future, and the ambition we have for it is right. I acknowledge the very...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan Administration (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: In light of the technical and once off nature of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led intervention, my Department appointed a specialist international advisory team including external financial advisors (KPMG and PwC) to assist with the development and procurement of the NBP State led intervention. The National Development Finance Agency’s role as financial adviser to my...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Funding (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: My Department has not awarded any funding or grant aid to the association in question.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: As stated in reply Question No. 471 of 13 November 2018, the referenced area is in the BLUE area on the High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie. The BLUE areas are where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services.  Notwithstanding this, I am aware that...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Contracts Data (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible. 

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Disposal Charges (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) report recommended that existing national waste management policy, as set out in “A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland" should be reviewed. This review process, which will be initiated in 2019, in tandem with other initiatives, such as the European circular economy waste and plastics legislation...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Fuel Prices (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Irish retail oil sector is an open and competitive market. As such, I have no role in the setting of fuel prices. The retail price of gasoline and diesel at the pumps is determined by a number of factors, including the price of crude oil and refined product on the international markets, market supply and demand levels, and as oil is traded almost...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy Resources (4 Dec 2018)

Richard Bruton: Ireland holds 90 days of emergency oil stocks, managed by the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA), the non-commercial state body established to manage Ireland's oil reserve. These stocks are held to ensure Ireland’s compliance with International Energy Agency (IEA) rules, and EU obligations under Directive 2009/119/EC, and are intended to be used in the event of a supply disruption. ...