Naughten told the single broadband bidder that its price was too high

Former Communications Minister, Denis Naughten, told the remaining single bidder for the contract for broadband broadband service provision in remote rural areas that he was asking for too much money. money for the project last June.

The warning of Mr. Naughten to Granahan McCourt, the sole bidder of the public market, is revealed in the report on the tender procedure released Tuesday.

The report was requested by Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, after Naughten's resignation last month. The former minister was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had had several private talks with David McCourt, the American businessman who runs the last bidder. .

The report states that although private meetings have "caused concern", it has been found that the integrity of the process itself has not been compromised. The government said on Tuesday that the process would continue, with the new Minister of Communications, Richard Bruton, hoping the government would be able to award the contract or not in the coming weeks.

discussions

Although the report states that Mr. Naughten did not influence the process in favor of Mr. McCourt, it is clear that he participated in discussions with the bidder on the costs of the project.

It appears that Mr. Naughten attended a meeting last June in which he made it clear to the bidders that the price they were looking for was too high for the state.

For months, the government has been worried about the rising costs of the national plan for broadband services.

"The former minister was there to point out that he could not submit the grant proposal that could be solicited under the bidder's proposal for approval by the government," says the report.

Mr. Naughten's private contacts with Mr. McCourt continued after that date, including a dinner in New York and a phone call in August after a further meeting between officials from Mr. Naughten's department and representatives of Mr. McCourt. .

backlash

Concerns about the rising costs of the National Broadband Plan have multiplied within the government for months. If ministers fear a political reaction in rural Ireland if the project is abandoned, there is concern about escalating costs and the level of demand for broadband broadband services in many countries. many rural areas.

Yesterday evening, Mr. Naughten welcomed the findings of the report, "which concludes that I" did not influence or seek to influence "the conduct of the bidding process for Granahan McCourt".

However, asking if Mr. Naughten could return to cabinet, a spokesman for Taoiseach said, "There is no vacancy in cabinet.

"Taoiseach sees this as a partial or qualified justification. As the Smyth report notes, private talks with Mr. McCourt, whose former minister did not report to the Dáil, aroused great concern, "he said.