Results 8,941-8,960 of 26,021 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: To pick up on just one or two points, on a local issue, I ask Mr. Malone to give me the roll-out and connection metrics for Limerick as of now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: They are around the city.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Great. I welcome that. May I have clarification on a couple of points? They involve a bit of detail. The target for the end of the year was 115,000 and it was said that NBI will do about 70,000 to 100,000 every year thereafter. Is NBI still on target to meet the 70,000 to 100,000 from 2022 onwards? What is its rough target for those years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Let us say that a constituent of mine has a number and that it is going up on NBI's system now. I referred earlier to somewhere in Lisnagry. Is NBI quite near the city? Is it, say, beside University of Limerick in Castletroy? They are being told they will get roll-out of broadband. That is an intervention area between January 2025 and December 2026. That is three to four years away....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: When NBI publishes its plan, as we are told it will, will it be a five or seven-year plan? I am talking about the plan that is imminent and is to be published in the next week or so.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: When will we get an idea of whether NBI is bringing the timeframe back? Is the intention to bring it back to five years? I am not saying it is achievable but is that the target?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: When will NBI know that? When does Mr. Malone anticipate NBI will be able to give clarity around bringing back the timeframe?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Is it correct that the financial aspect of the contract for the roll-out of broadband was based on a 60% take-up by customers? What has been the take-up to date? What does NBI believe the take-up will be? If take-up is less than 60%, could there be an additional cost to the State? I know it is a fixed-price contract and there has been great work on the ground, but the committee also has a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: The figure is 46.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: What has been the take-up to date? I know it is just starting out. My next-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Sorry?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: What does Mr. Hendrick anticipate will be the overall take-up? Am I correct in saying the financial model was built on a minimum take-up of 60%. Is this correct or is it just hearsay?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Are there any circumstances in which the NBI contract could cost the taxpayer more than the cost as agreed under the contract?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: The cost to the taxpayer is the figure of-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Any additional costs will fall to NBI and if there is a reduction in the cost of materials, there will be a rebate to the taxpayer. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am conscious of time. For us to assist NBI in its roll-out, it would appear that one of the areas that probably requires a bit of tightening up is being able to get road opening planning licences through the local authorities. We will write to the Minister for Transport and Communications and the Minister with responsibility for local authorities to ask them to establish designated units....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Mr. Hendrick might write to us specifically on the intervention areas when he has a bit more detail on what NBI is doing in the first quarter. It is a huge issue on the ground.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Finally, will Mr. Hendrick nail it on the head that there are no downsides for the taxpayer in terms of costs with the NBI contract, at €2.6 billion? It is a huge amount of money, but if it is rolled out successfully the benefits will be enormous in terms of people getting access to broadband fibre whether they are in Dublin, Tokyo or rural County Limerick. We saw during Covid-19...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is capped at €2.6 billion for the Irish taxpayer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Business of Joint Committee
Update on National Broadband Plan: National Broadband Ireland (15 Sep 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: We will correspond with Mr. Hendrick in terms of the engagement with NBI. We will discuss this as a committee. There is obviously ongoing engagement at local level. For us, it is very simple. We are here, as a committee, to ensure that broadband is rolled out as quickly as possible. We also have a remit to protect the public purse. We thank Mr. Hendrick, Mr. Malone and Ms Collins for...