Vol. 557 No. 4
87 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the projected cost and construction timetable for each of the 19 towns and cities in his Department's proposed roll out of metropolitan area fibre optic networks. [22326/02]
It is expected that the overall investment programme will cost in the region of €60 million. The relevant local authorities have been asked to establish firm prices for their proposals and once procurement is completed, and subject to satisfactory pricing, contracts will be offered for these projects in the order local authorities complete the procurement processes to the satisfaction of my Department. It is anticipated that the procurement processes will be completed over the coming weeks and local authorities will have established the actual costs of constructing the metropolitan fibre optic rings. It is expected that these projects will be completed progressively over the next six to 26 months.
