Results 14,521-14,540 of 26,718 for speaker:David Cullinane

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: There was a report in the Irish Independentrecently on foot of the Taoiseach's appearance before the finance committee. He told that committee that he could not give a guarantee that the project would go ahead until the final contracts were signed, and that he and the Government would await the assessment. As part of that assessment - and the Department is overseeing that work - has the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: When the assessment process is complete, which Mr. Griffin said is near conclusion, is it possible that it will give a number of options to the Government? I accept it is a matter for the Government. The Government will decide what is the best course of action and ultimately on how to proceed. Regarding the information it will get from the Department on foot of the assessment process, will...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: I am not, in fact, as Cabinet confidentiality is based on the decisions Cabinet makes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: I am not asking which recommendations are involved. I am asking if it is possible, to put it a different way, that a number of different options, rather than recommendations as such, will be put to Government which will then decide what to go for or will there be a clear recommendation? Is that a fair way to put it?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: So it is a clear recommendation.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: The cost will be very clear as well.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: Mr. Griffin also said in his opening remarks that the technology solution was fibre to premises and that it would also involve maximising the use of pole infrastructure. Is it therefore the case that it will not all be underground?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: I think the Taoiseach said it was all going to be underground. Can Mr. Griffin clarify for us that it is not the case? What percentage of it will be underground?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: Mr. Neary might have a word with the Taoiseach also.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: I really do not need an indepth response. My questions are whether it is the case that it is not all going to be underground and what percentage of it will be.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: The vast majority will be overhead.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: Before the national broadband plan was conceived, there was discussion as to how to roll it out. Was consideration given to using the ESB's existing infrastructure?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: Was it considered at any point that the ESB itself would roll out the plan?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: I do not want to understate the complexity of the issue. Mr. Griffin is right when he says this is a bespoke and unique project. At the same time, there are very few households in the country that are not connected to the ESB. From a layman's perspective, it would have made sense, given that it will be difficult to create a new layer of infrastructure, to use the ESB. Most observers would...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: State aid rules basically prevented us from just allowing the ESB to do it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: That clarifies the issues perfectly for me. It is a vindication of bringing in the experts to the meeting. I have one final question for Mr. Griffin on the correspondence we received from BT. It gives a breakdown of the Analysys Mason report, the recommendations that were made and their status as to whether they were implemented or not. Has Mr Griffin read this?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: We have the recommendations and the status of them from the Department, I believe, and then BT's view. It agrees with very few, where they have been implemented. I refer to a couple of examples. Number two was that Enet should update its assumptions used in preparing the desktop survey. It states that it has no visibility of this activity. Number four states that Enet and the Department...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: Perfect.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: Perhaps we can ask the Department to maybe get a response.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Broadband Service Provision: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Mar 2019)

David Cullinane: I have one final point. To return to an issue that just occurred to me when Mr. Griffin was dealing with last issue, on the ESB infrastructure, I understand what Mr. Mulligan said about the direction that the infrastructure would come from. He gave the example of some premises that might be some distance away from the actual poles. Would 4G or wireless technology not be a solution in...