Results 11,301-11,320 of 20,088 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: This afternoon we engage with officials from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to examine expenditure on the national broadband plan in the context of the 2020 appropriation accounts for Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications. The Department has been advised that the committee may wish to examine the following matters related to the expenditure on the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Mr. Griffin is very welcome. As detailed in the letter of invitation, he has five minutes. There will be a reminder at four minutes.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I call Deputy Burke now, please.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: That is a commitment for the Deputy.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Very brief, Deputy.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Is it the end of 2025?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I ask about the overall cost of the project and the breakdown per connection. Figures of approximately €2,000 per connection have been indicated but there is a cost of servicing the overall project of €2.6 billion in State aid and there is also €270 million of investment. Figures this morning indicate almost 30% take-up. We might assume the take-up reaches 40%. If all...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: It would be €5,000 if everybody took it up and we can do the sums from there. This is relating to the overall cost of the project, which is €2.9 billion. We can divide that by the number of premises to be served, and we can assume 40% of premises will take it up. I hope more premises take it up. If 50% of premises take it up, the cost is €10,000 per connection. Is...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: It is close to 90%. That would equate to approximately €6,000 per household. Does Mr. Griffin count that as excessive? A "yes" or "no" answer is fine. It would be €6,000 per household with 90% take-up. I would say that is optimistic, but anyway.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I understand that. It is a wide gap.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Will it be 90%?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I understand that. As regards the board of NBI, there are nine people on the board. Granahan McCourt nominates eight of those board members and the Minister, the State, the Department and the taxpayer have one board member. The Minister, the State and the taxpayer are putting up €2.6 billion, while Granahan McCourt is putting up just over €200 million. The highest figure...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I understand that. Their loyalty has to be to the company but-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: -----there are eight board members nominated by the investor.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I welcome the clarification as to who the board member is. She has been there from the start.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Does Mr. Griffin have a concern in respect of the fact that crucial decisions would have been made in the lead-up to that time but there was no one at that table representing the State?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: I am asking a different question. Does Mr. Griffin have concerns in respect of the fact that the one nominee of the Minister was not at that table until July 2020?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: Critical decisions would have been made in that period.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: There is a bond of €20 million that was withheld until the end of January or February. Has that bond been released?

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters (10 Feb 2022)

Brian Stanley: The bond has been rolled over for 12 months. One of the questions we have tried to tease out several times relates to the reason for going with this model when the contribution from the private investor is so small, at just over 9% of the contribution by the taxpayer, which accounts for in excess of 90%. Why would the Department go with this? We have learned that the investors are getting...