Results 13,241-13,260 of 27,334 for speaker:David Cullinane

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: Raise questions.

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: One final question relates more on a policy issue but it is one on which they might have an opinion. Ofcom in Britain is looking at providing a legal minimum broadband speed. That is one of the issues that is a source of public debate. What would be the witnesses opinion on introducing such a policy 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: That is very useful. It is probably useful for the sectoral committee.

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Five minutes is more than enough. I welcome Ms Lennon and Mr. Storey. I will start with the existing infrastructure. In the past couple of weeks there have been announcements by Eir, SIRO and Imagine Telecommunications Limited of increased investment in infrastructure. I live in and represent part of a rural constituency. In the past, issues were raised relating to old infrastructure,...

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: While it is great that urban areas will receive increased investment and an enhanced infrastructure, the difficulty is that many customers in rural areas are serviced by single masts. They are often copper to mast. Why is there no investment in those areas, particularly when they are the same areas?

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: I get that. The lack of commercial business case is what I was getting at. It goes back to the argument, which some might say is ideological, that the State has to intervene to ensure something is available when it is not commercially viable, but that it is necessary in the interests of the State that it be provided. Ms Lennon referred to the NBP. It has been problematic, to say the...

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Okay. BT was saying something different, namely that the prompt came from Eir.

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: That is fine. The point is that the 300,000 customers we are discussing here are considered the more commercial viable.

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: That goes back to my point. As Ms Lennon has pointed out, the NBP deals with households and areas where it is not commercially viable. That was to include the 840,000 customers. When 300,000 of the most commercially viable of that figure are removed, it makes the remaining number more problematic in terms of their viability. Is that part of the reason for the current difficulty and why...

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Did Eir bid for it?

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Was Eir a bidder for the remainder?

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Does Ms Lennon believe that what was left was a transparent process?

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: No, I do not refer to the 300,000 customers but to the remainder that Eir did bid for.

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Was that from Eir's end?

Public Accounts Committee: Eir (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: We will take these issues up with the Department.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister for giving us an outline of what will be in the Bill. I have read the general scheme of its provisions and I am somewhat acquainted with what it hopes to achieve. Whatever we can do to support the passage of the Bill we will do. I concur with Teachta Collins that it would have been better if the Bill had been published earlier. The Minister spoke about the Bill going...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: I understand and accept this but my point is we do not know what contingencies will be in place in the event of a hard crash. The Minister can correct me if I am wrong but I understand the Bill is predicated on a no-deal scenario. Is this correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Earlier the Minister mentioned that by and large-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: Exactly. In a no-deal scenario my point is the biggest contingency we will have to deal with is what happens at the Border. With regard to the process, I welcome the fact that the Minister is making himself available for briefings. It might be useful if other Ministers make themselves available to spokespersons with regard to their respective sections of the Bill. This might be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

David Cullinane: The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, has said Britain and Ireland could reach a bilateral agreement on the issue. I do not know whether that is right, but he has said it.