Results 27,201-27,220 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The position is that the contract will provide an enforceable equity commitment on behalf of the project which will cover the equity involved of €175 million. The company will also have to provide all of the working capital. As I indicated in my initial reply, the State will not be making any commitment to make a payment until and as the roll-out is delivered. In terms of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The availability of high speed broadband to every home in the country will unlock the door to equal participation in digital transformation which is already transforming our lives and will continue to bring fresh opportunities that will be crucial to operations in Ireland's regions. My Department commissioned a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis on the national broadband plan, as is a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I assure the Deputy that the cost-benefit analysis was conducted according to strict procedures and that, contrary to his claim, my Department did not in any way suggest that it was not done in the correct manner. I also assure the Deputy that we have examined every alternative. One of the things we have learned from conducting public projects in a robust way is that one has to be sceptical...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: To explain to the Deputy, the proposal involves rolling out 146,000 km of fibre. We chose to adopt the approach of using an existing network, which could either be that of Eir or the ESB. Of course, because this project involves state aid, one cannot specify which must be used. It is up to those delivering to choose based on market competition. One option cannot be designated. However,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: That price will be payable whether ESB poles or Eir poles are used. Under the estimate, the cost of rental over 25 years will be €1 billion, which is €40 million a year.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: That is a ComReg regulated price which is independently set. It can be altered by ComReg. It would have to paid whether ESB poles or Eir poles were used. This contract allows the contractor to choose whether to use the ESB, Eir, the metropolitan area networks, MANs, or any other network it chooses.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: All of us in the House will agree that tackling climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. The deliberations of the committee and the very lively participation of all members, including the questioner, is testimony to the interest of the Oireachtas. As the Deputy recognises, I have been asked to prepare an all-of-Government climate action plan to ensure Ireland makes...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I assure the Deputy that I recognise the importance of the work done by the Oireachtas committee and that I absolutely accept the importance of a much greater level of transparency and accountability and the importance of setting of clear targets which will be adopted by each sector. We will be adopting legislative proposals to ensure that the Oireachtas plays a far greater role. I assure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I understand that the Minister, Deputy Madigan, has introduced to the House in the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill a new biodiversity duty, obliging public bodies to work to reduce the impacts of their activities on biodiversity. She has also published the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2021. She convened the national conference, which I attended. It is interesting that a number of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: To some degree the earlier question from Deputy Stanley covers the Deputy's points. The original cost-benefit analysis was commissioned in 2015 under the terms of the public spending code and has been published. This was updated over the past four years and the finalised cost-benefit analysis was published earlier this month. This was done after detailed evaluation and engagement with the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: People obviously raise the issue with me. When I explain to them that Telecom Éireann was sold 20 years ago and that we do not own the infrastructure and rely on the private sector to deliver for rural areas, they understand our position on providing 146,000 km of fibre to connect rural areas to the network, which is important for our future. I explained to the people that we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I will not enter into a public dispute with the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. He scrutinised the figure of 30%, concerning benefits being greater than costs, and challenged the benefits, as is his job. The cost–benefit analysis was robust, however, and it showed the figure was verifiable. The other point I would make to the Deputy is one that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: As I have outlined to the House, and to the Deputy at the joint Oireachtas committee meeting last week, following rigorous evaluation by my Department, I recently brought a recommendation to the Government to confer preferred bidder status on Granahan McCourt, the remaining bidder in the NBP procurement process, and the Government agreed to this at its meeting on 7 May. This is an important...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The position is that the Government has appointed a preferred bidder. The preferred bidder has been successful in the tendering process but it is only on the satisfactory completion of the contract details that the Government will sign. We will have to be satisfied that all the financial agreements, guarantees and performance bonds are in place. We will have to be satisfied that there are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Implementation (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I am not going to comment on spin but let me be honest. Every week, I was coming into the House and Members of the Deputy's party, including himself, and Members of the other parties were asking what was the delay in bringing forward a decision on the preferred bidder. Now, it seems, the very same people who were clamouring for that decision to be brought forward are saying this was rushed....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Administration (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The purpose of the national broadband plan is to ensure that more than 1.1 million of our citizens in rural Ireland have the same opportunity to participate in the digital society as citizens living in urban areas. The availability of ubiquitous high-speed broadband will bring significant benefits in areas such as e-health, e-education, smart farming, regional development and tourism. As...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Administration (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I can see the rationale for not publishing the costings and I hope the Deputy can understand it. The individual tenderer which has now been successful has to conclude deals with subcontractors. If we publish the tentative costings, it will undermine the ability of that tenderer to get value. Similarly, if we priced those alternatives and published those costings, we would undermine our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan Administration (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: There has been much talk about the projected take-up. As the Deputy knows, it is projected that 80% of those passed will take up the service by the end of this project. Existing information says that where it is available on a fixed line, the take-up of high-speed broadband is already at 65%. We have no reason to believe that take-up in rural Ireland will be lower. Our cost-benefit...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Network (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: We discussed this earlier in the week. An Post has its own State board and its own prerogatives. We in the Oireachtas have designated this to be so. It is responsible for the day-to-day management of its affairs. My responsibility is to ensure that the company operates to the standards of governance set for it and that it is in a financially sound position. As the Deputy knows, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Post Office Network (21 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The mandate of An Post must be to develop services for its customer base. It has been very successful in developing the parcel network. It is dealing with big companies like Amazon and other online players. It has successfully developed its own parcel business. It is developing into the financial services sector. We must rely on its capacity to build its customer base and ensure it...