I propose to take Questions Nos. 126, 127 and 131 together.
The NBP procurement process set out a mechanism for the Department to assess and approve or reject changes to the membership of any of the bidders. In demonstrating financial and economic capacity, Granahan McCourt relied on the resources of Tetrad Corporation and McCourt Global LLC. who were approved by the Department as bidder members in September 2018.
The ability to rely on resources of another entity or entities and the requirements for doing so are set out in the Project Information Memorandum, including at section 10.2 and the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. Tetrad Corporation and McCourt Global LLC both reiterated their support at Final Tender, and Tetrad Corporation also provided a commitment letter at Final Tender in relation to the equity required for the project.
In relation to a previous parliamentary question on the investors in National Broadband Ireland my Department provided a clarification where an earlier response had inadvertently conflated the roles of the Bidder Members with investors.