Written answers

Tuesday, 6 November 2018

Department of An Taoiseach

Departmental Meetings

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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111. To ask the Taoiseach if he, his departmental officials and-or his predecessors have met companies and an organisation (details supplied) and-or representatives of same in the past three years to date; and if so, if a schedule of those meetings and the associated minutes will be published [44783/18]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As I have stated in the House recently, I was invited by Science Foundation Ireland to present Mr. David McCourt (CEO Granahan McCourt), with the Science Foundation Ireland St. Patrick's Day Medal at a public event held in Washington DC in March 2018 at which the media were present and which was reported at the time. We did not discuss the national broadband programme.

Mr. McCourt wrote to me on two occasions, in June 2017 congratulating me on my appointment and seeking a meeting to discuss his portfolio of companies, and in 2018 to invite me to launch his book. The 2017 correspondence was acknowledged by my office, and an email declining the invitation to launch his book was issued to the 2018 correspondence.

I have had no other meeting or discussion with Mr McCourt regarding the National Broadband Plan.

Departmental records show that my predecessor Mr. Enda Kenny was invited by Mr. David McCourt to attend the launch of ALTV.com on 2 June 2016 at the RHA Gallery, 15 Ely Place, Dublin 2. The then Taoiseach did not attend this launch and referred Mr. McCourt’s correspondence to his colleague the then Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ms. Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

Following an invitation from Mr. Conal Henry, as CEO of Enet, Mr. Kenny attended Enet’s Fibre to the Home launch event on 29 January 2016 at the Ballyseedy Home and Garden Centre in Tralee, Kerry.

A search of Departmental records indicates that there weren't any meetings between officials in the Department of the Taoiseach and representatives of the Enet Irish Infrastructure Fund in the past there years.

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