Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 496: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the position regarding Project Kelvin in terms of an account of project status; if he will provide a progress report on money approved and spent; if there have been changes in the status of the project since July 2008; the person who changed the status of the project in the event of it having been changed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4641/09]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The contract for the Kelvin project was awarded in late December 2008 and it is now being implemented by Hibernia Atlantic, the winning bidder for the contract. €12m of Irish Exchequer funding has been approved for the project, of which €9m will be refunded to the Irish Exchequer from EU funds. This is because it is a joint North-South project approved for 75% EU funding under the INTERREG IV Cross Border Cooperation Programme. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland, our joint partners in the Kelvin project, has approved a total of €18m for the Kelvin project for total public funding of €30m. Expenditure of €1,290,781 was paid by my Department towards the Kelvin project in December 2008 after the award of the contract.

In July the Kelvin project was at the tendering stage, whereas the contract has now been awarded to implement the project. The evaluation of the tenders submitted for the implementation of the project was a joint process between officials of my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland.

The Kelvin project will provide high speed direct international broadband connectivity to the North West of Ireland at a very competitive cost, in particular for the towns of Derry, Letterkenny, and Monaghan. This will make the region more attractive for international business and for foreign direct investment and will improve Ireland's overall international connectivity. We are fortunate that funding was made available for the Kelvin project in view of current pressures on public funding; this reflects the strategic benefits of the project for the North West of Ireland and for Ireland as a whole.