Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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401. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the ownership of the national broadband network will not be owned by the State after 25 years; if the cost of buying back the network at the end of the 25 years has been factored into the calculations for the cost of the national broadband plan; the expected cost in the event that the State wishes to buy back the network once the contract expires; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20630/19]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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402. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the duration of the contract for the national broadband plan is intended to be 25 years; to outline the potential cost to the Exchequer after the contract expires; if there will be terms and conditions in the contract that will apply after the 25 years that will restrict the cost to the State; if after the duration of 25 years another contract will need to be negotiated in order to use the network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20631/19]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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403. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which the State will subsidise new premises over the life of the contract for the national broadband plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20642/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 401 to 403, inclusive, together.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI) will own any new infrastructure it builds for the National Broadband Plan. However, only a small percentage of the infrastructure to be used for the NBP intervention network will be new infrastructure. This is because most of the infrastructure to be used will be existing poles and ducts leased from other commercial operators. Infrastructure re-use in this manner ensures the State complies with State Aid guidelines, environmental sustainability best practice, and minimises costs. The majority asset at the end of the 25 years will be fibre on rented poles and rented ducts.

NBI will be required to manage these assets over the lifetime of the project, and will be liable for the associated costs where network assets are required to be maintained or replaced. At year 25 of the contract, there is a commitment to maintain the services at no cost to the State for a further 10 years. In the event the company is not willing to maintain services, the State has a right to purchase the business at market value.

It was a requirement of the procurement process for any bidder to commit to providing high speed broadband services to all premises in the intervention area - both existing premises and new premises built over the lifetime of the contract. Therefore National Broadband Ireland will be required to both pass and connect new premises in the Intervention Area over the next 25 years.

The cost to pass and connect new premises in the Intervention Area formed part of the final tender submission and was based on a conservative extrapolation from data from the Central Statistics Office projections on housing growth. These costs have been included in the overall subsidy estimate approved by Government.