Results 13,381-13,400 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: If it had been pooled with the other 500,000, it would not have happened. The other 500,000 justifies, under State aid rules, significant public expenditure to pay for the roll-out of broadband and that is what is going to happen. A number of operators have been part of this process and some have chosen to pull out but that does not mean companies have not submitted costings. People are...
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: Deputy Howlin also had those experts when he made his decisions in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We are now at the end of the process he set up. It has been highly complex but by September we will have concluded a contractual arrangement with-----
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: -----the remaining consortium. We can give real hope to the-----
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: -----500,000 homes which need broadband that they will see it before the end of this year.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: It is not.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: SSE is not a tiny operation.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: The Government is committed to doing this. Resources are not the problem. Finalising a complex contract is the issue and we hope to have that done by September, as opposed to the recommendation of others today to start all over again. That is certainly not what rural Ireland would thank us for.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: I wish to set the record straight on something because there is a bit of politics being played with this issue. Broadband is a very emotive issue in rural Ireland.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: It is easy to raise concerns in regard to it. SSE is the second largest electricity supplier in the country. Enet is already a significant fibre operator in the country.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: We have an credible consortium which has already engaged with the Department at length and submitted costings, proposals and so on. There was always going to be a preferred bidder at the end of this process with which the State would need to negotiate and finalise contracts. That is-----
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: It is not like we are starting this process again with one bidder.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: The process has nearly concluded.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: Now we need to finalise it.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: It will be concluded by September. We now have a bidder who is anxious-----
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: The Deputy does not want to hear the answer
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: With respect, the Deputy will have to ask some of those questions of the Minister. She asked a whole series of questions about what the Minister knew and when and what he did and when.
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: I will answer what I can today. Like many other semi-State companies, CIÉ has a responsibility towards its pensioners and workers who will be future pensioners in terms of ensuring that pension funds are solvent. Many, if not all, of the semi-State companies and agencies have sought to restructure pension funds accordingly. The ESB and Coillte have done so. CIÉ has worked with...
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: First, the Government is acutely aware of the pressures in rural Ireland in terms of the need for broadband access. Like many Deputies, I grew up on a farm in a rural community. I know the responsibility the Government has to ensure that people in rural Ireland as well as people in urban centres can access the information and the opportunity that the Internet provides. They need speed to...
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: Deputy Dooley's suggestion that the approach the Government should take after all of the work that has been undertaken to date-----
- Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2018)
Simon Coveney: There are about 80 people working on this for the State to get the contract right. We are expecting it to be concluded by September so that we can roll out State-sponsored broadband delivery rapidly after that. This is on top of what is already happening commercially, with about 300 farms per week, if the Deputy wants to raise the issue of agriculture, getting access to broadband. We want...