Results 5,501-5,520 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I presume the Deputy is referring to where Granahan McCourt and those who are involved have 40 projects and have €40 billion-----

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I can provide the Deputy with that detail. It has very long experience. It has senior executives drawn from both Irish companies in telecommunications and from international companies. If anyone looks at the names of the people, including the new CEO and the new CTO, whose names are published, they will see they have very strong CVs.

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: That information has been published.

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The Government has made a decision that it is a preferred bidder. It is up to the House. I have offered to go to the committee next week and I hope to convince members of the committee that this is the right decision. Of course, it is up to the House what-----

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The gap funding model was chosen after a very detailed evaluation which was originally carried out on behalf of the State by KPMG. It went through a financial test and also went through a number of non-financial tests, and it was found to be cheaper to go this way. The biggest reason is because we are using rented poles and ducts that are already in the core service. We are not building...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Yes. A certain contract model was chosen. The model is that the State does not own the asset. The State provides a subsidy and it piggy-backs, to the maximum extent, off the existing network. It seeks to have it integrated into that network to maximise the overall business system that the whole system delivers. It stands on its own two feet, so the State does not get involved. Other...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The €500 million estimate was for the project Deputy Broughan was advocating, which was just bringing fibre to the 1,100 villages, and that was as far as it would go. In terms of getting to 540,000 premises, or, as it then was, 750,000 premises, it would be for commercial interests to bring it from the village out to all of those individual premises. That was rejected as an...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Yes. There were three bidders but at the time draft bids were made, two companies made draft bids and they were both of the same order of magnitude. It was not that some of the others were coming in with very different scales of bids. We then entered into the very detailed due diligence process that I described to Deputy Stanley, where we went through international benchmarks for the cost...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: No, I certainly do not. They way we approached this was by way of a competitive dialogue. The State did not have a firm view as to what the best technology or best approach would be, so a competitive dialogue was held. State companies, including the ESB, entered into that competitive dialogue, but two bidders, as the Deputy indicated, dropped out at a certain stage. Five started, three...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Under the contract, if the bidder abandons or is unable to complete the project, the asset reverts to the State, so the State will own the asset in that situation. At that point should that happen, the State will have only paid for the fibre that has been rolled out at that point. We pay in arrears only on performance. At that point, should that occur we will have the value of the fibre...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The position is that this company will operate under the very strictest governance. We will have an office overseeing it with financial, technical and full reporting capability. Every element of the roll-out of this will be reported. There are very strict reporting requirements. In terms of the pricing, this will be a single wholesale provider but there will be multiple retailers...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The position regarding the investment of equity by Granahan McCourt is that it must make an initial investment, fund the working capital and may be called upon to invest additional equity in certain eventualities. In other words, it is taking all the risk in respect of how this project might unfold. As the Deputy is aware, many commentators have said that the take up might be much lower....

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I do not want to confirm anything ahead of the finalising of contracts. That is a process that we are undertaking. To deal with Deputy Cowen's point, from the start of this process the appointment of a preferred bidder has been a very important milestone and stage in this. It is not the case that because we are not ready to sign a contract, we are picking out a preferred bidder. A...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: First of all, it is not possible to predict how this company will recover equity and whether it will recover it in year one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten or 25. That depends on the success of this proposal. The company is taking on risk here. It is taking on risk with regard to the roll-out and take-up. Obviously, it is coming in here in the hope it will make a...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Obviously, it will depend on its success in managing the project. For example, if it fails to reach some of the roll-out, and some Deputies expressed scepticism about its capacity to deliver, it certainly will not get its equity because it will be paying penalties for failing to deliver. In response to Deputy Eugene Murphy, I will make myself available to the committee next to answer...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I will share my time with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. Before speaking to the substance of the matter, I take this opportunity to thank my predecessors and, in particular, Deputy Naughten, who put great effort into developing the national broadband plan, NBP. I also thank my officials who have worked tirelessly over a long period. They have done the State a great service,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I am very disappointed, as I am sure the Deputy is, that despite two Ministers before me indicating there would be a smoky coal ban, there has been a legal challenge to that. I am seeking advice from the Attorney General as to how this can be done in a legally robust way. I have also asked the Environmental Protection Agency to assemble detailed data for us about the state of the air...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The national clean air strategy will proceed and this is one of the items everyone wanted to see included.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: We have not set a date because we are seeking to resolve this issue, which is an integral part of what we are hoping to deliver.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Inland Fisheries Stocks (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is the state agency responsible for the protection, management and conservation of Ireland's inland fisheries and sea angling resources. I am advised by IFI that restocking is a complex matter that is carefully considered in the context of the protection of existing wild stocks. In relation to potential restocking of salmon, there are significant genetic and...