Results 12,281-12,300 of 26,396 for speaker:David Cullinane

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: I have a slightly different view. I would publish the report now but if there is a wisdom that we need to get permission to do it, it should be sought very quickly. If we get it we should publish the report because, to be honest, it is out there. Every media outlet has it. We need to stop messing around with this type of stuff. There is a damning report. We are waiting for another...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: I want to be very clear on this. It is a joint finance and construction subcommittee.

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: I welcome Mr. Evans and Mr. O'Dwyer and thank them for coming before us in a voluntary capacity. The witnesses have answered some of these questions already. We are talking about the wholesale operational licence for the MANs infrastructure. That is what Enet has; is that correct?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Two years before the current licence or contract was due to expire, it was renewed.

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: There was no tendering or competitive tension in it. It was simply renewed. I understand there was no publication or information distributed about the pricing structure. Mr. Evans mentioned earlier, as a critique of the process, that there was no allowance to pricing. Can he expand on that?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Have there been any publications as to why that was the case? I accept the prices are put out there. If it is the case that this is not something that is comparable with other countries, for example, have there been any publications as to why the price has remained static in this State?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Which is the one that appeared yesterday?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: In simple terms, what did yesterday's report say about the pricing structure?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Therefore, the pricing structure is not transparent and open. We are here meeting the providers today. We see in this report, which was published yesterday and of which we were not made aware of, that one of the obvious issues in relation to the MANs was the pricing structure and the fact that it reminds static. Only that Deputy Catherine Murphy had it, we would not even be in a position...

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: A fair 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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Would Mr. Evans see as unfair the lack of a tendering process or the fact that there was not any competition, for example?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Mr. Evans stated he made a complaint. To whom did he complain?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: If Mr. Evans had a view that there was a lack of transparency and a lack of fairness, how or to whom does he communicate that? Is it merely that he does it through the media?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: What was the Department's 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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Was it that it was too late and tough luck?

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: That is interesting. At some point after we hear from the providers, we need the Department back in. We can put it to them.

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Absolutely, I am not suggesting that. I am looking for their opinion as to why that happened.

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: They have put on the record that they did not believe it was transparent or fair. Most of us would agree with that. In relation to the national broadband plan, Mr. Evans stated he considered it. I appreciate the reasons, he stated then, that he did not continue. I understand the original proposal was meant to be for 840,000 homes, 300,000 of which were taken out and given to Eir. Did...

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: It might have, but I ask Mr. O'Dwyer to bear with me for a second. My understanding is - I have read all of the commentary in relation to this - that those 300,000 were some of the most commercially viable ones-----

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
BT Ireland (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: I ask Mr. O'Dwyer to bear with me. We have had this discussion with the Secretary General who conceded that that had a bearing on the overall contract. Whatever about the rights and wrongs of it - I hear what Mr. O'Dwyer is saying - if it started off as 840,000 and Eir made that proposition to commercially invest in those 300,000, and they were the most commercially viable, did that have a...