What is the National Broadband Plan controversy all about?
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) was first published in August 2012 by then communications minister Pat Rabbitte and set out a strategy to connect all homes, schools, and businesses to high-speed broadband. The NBP promised to deliver minimum speeds of 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload by 2020.
The Government put the job of providing fast-speed broadband out to tender. Three bidders, Eir, Siro, and Enet, initially entered the competition for the contract.
However, Eir and Siro, an ESB-Vodafone joint venture, pulled out of the tender process. In July, SSE, which had been part of the Enet consortium, exited leaving serious question marks over the entire project.
However, the Enet consortium, in which businessman David McCourt is involved, indicated it would continue with its bid despite a major stakeholder in the group pulling out.
It is believed that the considerable reduction in the number of homes and businesses covered in the contract had an impact on the decision of bidders to drop out of the tender process, especially since houses left in the plan are generally the most isolated in the country.
Serious questions were again raised around the future of the NBP this week following the shock resignation of Communications Minister Denis Naughten after it emerged that he had held a number of meetings and dinners with Mr McCourt.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday promised to make the provision of rural broadband his “personal crusade” in the wake of Mr Naughten’s resignation.
Although the procurement and tendering process had been continuing until Mr Naughten stepped aside the process will now be subject to an audit to ensure it had not been compromised.
Mr Varadkar has asked independent process auditor for the NBP, Peter Smyth, to compile a report into the tendering process to date to ensure that the meetings Mr Naughten held with Mr McCourt had not contaminated or compromised the procurement process.
Asked about this, Mr Varadkar said: “Peter Smyth’s job is to be the independent process auditor, he was taken on quite early in the project to make sure that there is an external person always making sure that the procurement rules were followed.”
Mr Smyth is an independent management consultant who was contracted, following a tender, as process auditor in respect of the NBP procurement process.
In that capacity, he is required to confirm that the appropriate guidelines and processes are followed in the procurement of the project.
He has now been asked to prepare a report which will allow the Government to assess whether or not the procurement process has been compromised. The terms of reference and timeframe for that report will be finalised early next week, in consultation with Mr Smyth.
No deadline has been set for completion of this investigation, with the Taoiseach stating: “I don’t think it would be right to set a deadline given that his role is to be independent.”
Tánaiste Simon Coveney yesterday said the Government will make a decision on how to proceed with the NBP when the audit is finished.
Mr Naughten’s resignation has left the already shaky Government in an uncertain place when it comes to obtaining a majority for crucial Dáil votes.
Of the 158 seats, Fine Gael has 49 but the four Independent Alliance ministers along with Katherine Zappone brings this number up to 54. However, the key number when considering votes is 57, meaning the Government will need to heavily rely on other Independent TDs including Sean Canney, Michael Lowry, and Noel Grealish.
