Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE LONG-AWAITED details of the contract for the controversial National Broadband Plan have been published by the Department of Communications, albeit with a number of heavy redactions on “commercially sensitive” material.
The government signed off on the €3 billion plan late last year, after a controversial bidding process led to a number of delays – and the resignation of a government minister.
The details published as part of the contract between the government and National Broadband Ireland – chaired by David McCourt – run to over 1,000 pages. Of the 50 schedules in the contract, 13 were fully redacted and 16 were partially redacted. Just 21 were published in full.
The plan aims to initially set up 300 broadband connection points in community settings such as GAA clubs, community centres and public libraries.
These hubs will provide free high-speed broadband to people living in rural areas until broadband is delivered to their homes under the multi-billion euro plan.
Other subcontractors listed as part of the project include Eir, Enet, Kelly Comms, KN Network Services and Denis O’Brien owned Actavo Ltd.
Under the section of the contract dubbed “policy objectives”, it sets out a number of requirements that must be filled.
This includes that the infrastructure is “capable of providing high quality, reliable and affordable high speed broadband for 100% of premises in the intervention area”.
It must also be “consistent with the provision of value for money in line with industry best practice”.
There is also a requirement on the contractor to “stimulate demand” for the broadband infrastructure it builds. It should create “initiatives or incentivise early takeup” from the country’s broadband providers.
This could take the form of waiving or reducing the connection fee which should then be passed on to customers. Another incentive could include allowing homes and businesses to register their interest to be connected as soon as possible.
A map included in one section shows an area (in amber below) with at least 540,000 premises requiring a high speed connection.
The plan also lists 110 “rollout areas” dividing the country into sections where broadband should be delivered.
However, numerous parts of the contract are heavily redacted.
The contract stipulates a number of milestones that must be reached for what are dubbed “strategic community points” but these are redacted.
On the next page, there’s a requirement for the number of premises reached each quarter. This is also redacted.
Details on subsidy payments to contractors are withheld due to “commercial sensitivity”. Furthermore, how “performance levels” and “operational performance” are set out in the contract is withheld.
Sections on the “consequences of termination” and “termination events” have not been published.
The last Fine Gael government was heavily criticised for the contract, with the opposition calling on the broadband network to be publicly owned as the State is investing such a significant amount in the project.
Prior to entering government, now-Communications Minister Eamon Ryan expressed a preference for an option of “retaining the network in public ownership”. The Greens said in their election manifesto that it would “implement the plan” while “exercising all available options to minimise the cost and maximise the use of the new service”.
While Micheál Martin had referred to the plan as “farcical” in May 2019, Fianna Fáil’s manifesto prior to the election said it would “uphold our contractual obligations and ensure it is delivered as quickly as possible”.
The first homes are due to be connected under the National Broadband Plan towards the end of the this year, or the start of 2021.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
No surprise that [redacted] O’[redacted] is involved in the regular FFG contract circus.
Funny how an organisation spending 3 billion of the publics money authorised by the Irish government who were semi elected by the public, can withhold so much information about how the publics money is being spent.
@Joeber Wallace: Every single member of the government was fully elected by the public.
@Mark C: Yes, but what about the government advisors, lobbyists, civil servants, ministers who disclosed commercially sensitive information to interested parties/potential bidders (and resigned) and the money men?
@Mark C: but how many of the current sitting ministers were elected on the first count?
Sure even the taoiseach and tanaiste were only on the 6th and 5th count.
Well this is a [redacted] read…
Dennis the menace get his foot in the door yet again even before the sitesafe fiasco has been cleared up , sure its the same old story same people same rules , do as they like , set up a committee to look into wrong or corrupt actions , sure they can run forever , no result , costing the taxpayers a fortune . As has been proven this week corruption is in control from the top down .
@William Mcgee: totally true unfortunately William, same cronies milking the tax payer for every last cent. And when it all goes balls up (and it will) we will be left holding the can. No accountability no problem. Sure I’ll setup a broadband hub from my kitchen if that’s the case. Just pay me 100 million and I’ll have it up and running before this lot ever will.
@William Mcgee: if it gets me broadband being it on
Micheál Martin never makes his mind up does he?….. No no no, ok ye ye ye
@Thomas: If the country is already contractually committed, it’s not as simply as him stopping it to do something else – there might be a financial penalty.
@Conall: FF could have stopped it when they were in ‘opposition’, but they knew they had to allow the movement of state assets and money to private hands. They are as neo-liberal as FG. Shocking they will be spending our billions and not own it afterwards. People need to wake up to the transfer of our taxes into the pockets of billionaires.
@Conall: Then why complain in the first place.
How on earth are we going to pay for all of this. We are writing cheques we won’t be able to cash. I’m not against the broadband plan, but where is the money going to come from?
Forget Recession, it’s a depression we are heading towards. And all of the top table leading us are acting like a bunch of incompetent children.
This will be one hell of a financial disaster
So is it Denis or Larry getting the money. Who supplied the brown envelope!
Will we get cheese from the EU this year?
@Media Eire: butter vouchers only, and they can only be spent in the pubs that are closed.;-)))
@Media Eire: Central banks can print money out of thin air. Money supply is infinite as they have it down to a fine art now. Its the strings attached i.e. concessions, privatizations, real assets that get transferred that are the real issues. Paper digital money? Ireland can get that as much as it needs – BUT – it will have to do everything the EU says and probably sell its ports, fishing water rights etc… Get the picture?
Are the offshore islands going to be connected with high speed broadband does anyone know?
@Kyle: one already has been
@Tony Lyons: Aranmore?
@Kyle: As far as I remember (and I may be wrong, so correct me) it depends entirely on commercial viability re remote areas and broadband provision.
@David A. Murray: we should be investing in the islands. Make them attractive places to work and visit. And maybe build a Las Vegas style city on 1 too
Spacex’s starlink will be live and sorted, eliminating the need for this huge waste of resources, and will probably give a better and more reliable service than any of these crooked companies can provide. Hurrah for Elon
@Tim Adams: up and running yes, better service than FTTH, absolutely not.
.
I can’t wait till We leave the Eu they the people will control the money
have your say