Who will own €3bn broadband network?

THE Taoiseach faced questions yesterday over who will own the proposed €3billion national broadband network.

Leo Varadkar was quizzed on the National Broadband Plan by Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin in the Dáil.

In response to Micheál Martin’s query about ownership of the network upon its completion, the Taoiseach said that under the proposed contract terms, the contractor is to build, then operate, maintain and manage the network for 25 years.

‘At that point, Government has the option to buy, as it is not a commercial piece of infrastructure, one would expect that to be a relatively inexpensive proposition, and at any point if the contractor fails to deliver, the Government can step in and take over,’ Mr Varadkar said.

‘The next step will be for the Government to make a decision on whether to accept a bid and designate a prepared bidder. That has not yet been done. I anticipate that can be done in the next couple of weeks.’

Only one bidder remains in the process for the contract to deliver high-speed broadband to over 540,000 homes nationwide.

Mr Martin said he found it ‘difficult to comprehend’ that ‘the taxpayer would be spending €3billion and not owning or having any prospect of owning it at the end’.

Mary Lou McDonald branded the situation ‘utterly ludicrous’ and pointed out the plan would ‘cost six times what was expected’, drawing comparison with the spiralling costs of the children’s hospital.