I propose to take Questions Nos. 128, 131, 136 and 138 together.
The Government has approved the appointment of the Preferred Bidder for the National Broadband Plan, to deliver high speed broadband to all premises in Ireland, irrespective of location, through a combination of commercial investment and State intervention.
The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment has advised me that a maximum of €774 million will be required over the period 2019 to 2022, and €2.331 billion in total over the period of the National Development Plan (2019 to 2027) to fund the project. €800 million has already been allocated for this purpose in the National Development Plan and therefore the additional funding now required by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment is €477 million over the period 2019-2022, and a total of €1.579 billion over the full period of the National Development Plan (2019 to 2027).
As I have already indicated, I intend to provide the additional capital required to fund the additional cost of proceeding with the project from future revenues - this will be done in the context of updating the overall multi-annual capital ceilings set out in Project Ireland 2040. This means that the decision to approve the appointment of the Preferred Bidder will have no repercussions for other planned projects within the National Development Plan. No other projects will be delayed or rescheduled, and no other changes will be made to the capital allocations for other projects as set out in the National Development Plan as a consequence of the Government’s decision to proceed with the National Broadband Plan.
In relation to the impact of this on the fiscal position of the State and national debt, the increased expenditure related to the National Broadband Plan will worsen the annual General Government position by around 0.1 percentage points. Over a decade, this would add approximately 1 percentage point to the debt ratio.