Results 6,541-6,560 of 34,585 for speaker:Seán Fleming

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)

Seán Fleming: Eir should share some of the costs of putting up the fibre. While some of the customers might be Eir's own broadband customers, others may not necessarily be its customers. The full cost should not fall. Somebody has to work out the sharing of that fibre and who is going to benefit. If Eir is a beneficiary, unconnected with the provision of the national broadband plan, it should share a...

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)

Seán Fleming: Is that new poles?

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)

Seán Fleming: I presume the copper cable will come down.

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)

Seán Fleming: Ultimately, Eircom will lose its cable network as the cable will be owned by the SPV that is running the broadband. Eircom will then be a customer of the SPV to get access to the fibre.

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)

Seán Fleming: I presume all of this is what the 1,500 pages are about.

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)

Seán Fleming: It is its call.

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)

Seán Fleming: The witnesses can understand me asking.

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)

Seán Fleming: I think the witnesses have acknowledged the criticism of the Department on two communications issues. It should have put out a statement when it extended the MANs contract. No one knew about it. It was also acknowledged that the Department should have published the Analysys Mason report much earlier. Will communication from the Department with responsibility for communications improve as...

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)

Seán Fleming: It is only two here this morning. That is all I will say. Has the National Development Finance Agency had a role in the financing of this? It is meant to have a role in respect of every major capital project. What has been its role?

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)

Seán Fleming: Is it advising the Department on the funding aspects of the final contract?

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)

Seán Fleming: Who decides when it is relevant? Is that the Department's call or the NDFA's?

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)

Seán Fleming: We have discussed before that this will involve a great deal of construction work with 200,000 poles to be erected if this is to happen. Can the witnesses explain the issue of the derogation from the Government's contracts committee on construction projects? There will be a lot of construction contracts here. We had it with the children's hospital also where we were told this was a once...

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)

Seán Fleming: We will need clarification on this. We had detailed discussions about the national capital plan, the children’s hospital and the derogation. The public will not see the subtle difference between this, which is taxpayers’ money, State contracts and infrastructure, and the point that just because an SPV company has been established solely for these contract purposes that we are...

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)

Seán Fleming: The public would expect the same level of Government procurement rules. Do SPVs fall outside public procurement rules?

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)

Seán Fleming: That is a significant issue. I would be concerned if this amount of taxpayer funding – megabucks - goes into a project but is off-balance sheet through an SPV established solely for this contract.

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)

Seán Fleming: I do not mind that. However, we will not get a figure on the subsidies.

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)

Seán Fleming: Does the Department get the point about derogation from public procurement rules? It was a significant issue with the national children’s hospital. As Chairman, I am concerned that if every big contract-----

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)

Seán Fleming: No, it was a derogation of having to go through the Government contracts framework for procurement because it is a once-off specific complex project.

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)

Seán Fleming: The alternative is to go through the Government’s standard procurement process.

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)

Seán Fleming: I do not have an alternative view. I am just putting the facts out there and letting them fall where they may.