Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 June 2021
141. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 71 of 1 June 2021, his views on the fact that there are no penalties included in the National Broadband Plan; if his attention was drawn to this fact when the contract was signed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32271/21]
View answer159. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 71 of 1 June 2021, if his position on the National Broadband Plan has changed or remains the same as outlined in correspondence (details supplied) of 1 April 2019; and his views on the statement in the reply which outlines that the National Broadband Plan is significantly behind schedule. [32272/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 159 together.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) contract was signed in November 2019, and is being delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract to roll out a high-speed and future-proofed broadband network within the intervention area, which covers 1.1 million people living and working in over 544,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms, along with 695 schools. Prior to Government approving the NBP contract, my Department provided views and advice to Government in relation to the proposed contract. The Government approved the contract in May 2019, which was subsequently signed in November 2019, and the project is now being delivered by NBI. Following the signing of the NBP contract, my Department no longer has any operational role in relation to the National Broadband Plan. As the contract was signed by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, responsibility for all matters in relation to the contract, including governance and operational performance, are now a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. My position, and the position of Government, is now to seek to accelerate the roll out of the NBP, as committed to in the Programme for Government. However, it is my understanding that, among other governance arrangements, the contract signed in November 2019 contains a suite of key performance indicators to ensure the service is maintained appropriately, including significant penalties to address under-performance, and substantial provisions to reclaim the subsidy from NBI in the event of cost savings achieved or additional revenues generated. These include clawback on the deployment phase, during network operation, and at contract expiry. I understand there is also a clawback mechanism with respect to any sale of shares in NBI. However, as already indicated, I and my Department have no operational role in relation to the management of the NBP contract and any questions regarding the contract and/or its roll out should be directed to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.
