Capital Expenditure Programme

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021

Wednesday, 24 March 2021

Questions (239)

Richard Bruton

Question:

239. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the five most recent significant capital projects in the major functional responsibilities of his Department which have required his sanction; the time which elapsed between the initial submission of the proposal for consideration until the construction commenced; the significant elements making up this period; the time spent in assessment prior to approval in the planning process; the time spent in assessment prior to approval in the procurement process of contractors; and the way this duration compared with the targeted time to delivery set out at the outset of the process. [14776/21]

Written answers

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications

The most significant capital infrastructure project in my Department is the National Broadband Plan (NBP). Key milestones for the NBP included:

- August 2012 - Proposed NBP intervention announced by Government

- July 2015 - Publication of draft NBP Intervention Strategy

- December 2015 - Commencement of the NBP procurement process

- May 2019 – Government approval of National Broadband Ireland (NBI) as Preferred Bidder

- November 2019 – State Aid approval of NBP intervention

- November 2019 – Following Government approval, NBP contract signed with NBI

- January 2020 – Mobilisation for construction commenced

- January 2021 – First homes connected

Development of the intervention strategy and the detail of the procurement process, together with the carrying out of the procurement process, took significantly longer than had been anticipated at the outset. This was primarily as a result of the unique nature of the project and the complexity of managing a procurement in what was a very dynamic environment for the provision of telecommunications services.