Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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72. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of persons in his Department working on the national broadband plan, including their qualifications and expertise areas; the number of members of his Department's legal team working on the plan; and the number of members of the team seconded to and from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. [5736/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The National Broadband Plan (NBP) represents a very significant capital investment project for the State and aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland.  The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority.

A formal procurement process is in train to select a company who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network within the State Intervention Area.

The NBP is led at senior management level in my Department and is supported by a team of almost 40 people comprising a broad mix of expertise and experience to ensure the procurement process is effectively managed and provides a good solution for Ireland. The team comprises experts in the areas of procurement, project management, technical specialists, commercial and financial analysts as well as legal specialists and administrative staff.

The Team is supported by a number of additional external experts the areas of procurement, as well as legal, financial and technical expertise.

In addition there is external oversight in the form of a Steering Group, which oversees the strategy development and operation and a Procurement Board which oversees the procurement processes. Both of these groups are chaired by the Department and comprise independent expert advisers.

Members of the NBP team hold a variety of third level qualifications and have significant experience relevant to their areas of expertise. These areas include management, economic, technical, financial, legal and public administration.