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Naughten paid for Dáil dinner on behalf of sole remaining rural broadband bidder

A spokesperson for the Communications Minister Denis Naughten has confirmed that he paid for a di...
Newstalk
Newstalk

20.26 10 Oct 2018


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Naughten paid for Dáil dinner...

Naughten paid for Dáil dinner on behalf of sole remaining rural broadband bidder

Newstalk
Newstalk

20.26 10 Oct 2018


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A spokesperson for the Communications Minister Denis Naughten has confirmed that he paid for a dinner in the Dáil bar on behalf of a businessman bidding for National Broadband Contract.

The minister has already faced criticism after it emerged he accepted an invitation from David McCourt in New York in July.

Mr McCourt heads up the sole remaining consortium bidding for rural broadband contract – worth over €500m.

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At a press briefing this afternoon, Minster Naughten said he could not remember whether he had met with Mr McCourt on any other occasion.

However, a short time later, he confirmed he attended a meeting with the businessman along with members of his staff in June.

He also admitted to ‘facilitating’ a lunch in the Dáil bar on behalf of Mr McCourt’s family but said he did not know who paid for the outing.

He said he booked them in for a birthday celebration as Mr McCourt’s daughter wanted to see Leinster House.

This evening, a Department of Communications spokesperson confirmed that the Minister paid for the dinner, noting that the bill was in the order of €37 or €38.

Following criticism in the Dáil this afternoon, Minister Naughten said he did not accept that there was anything untoward about meeting with bidders during the process.

He said his Department is responsible for choosing who gets the contract – and insisted “I have no role or function in relation to that.”

He said he had also met with other businessman involved in bidding on behalf of other consortiums.

In the Dáil this afternoon, the Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the meetings had “contaminated” the bidding process for one of the biggest the contracts in the country’s history.

"People externally looking into this country might be tempted to say now that the key to getting a lucrative contract in Ireland is face time with the Minister,” he said.

"We have had tribunals about this type of thing in the past it is extraordinary Taoiseach that this has occurred.

"In my view the Minister has contaminated the process."

He rejected the Taoiseach’s claim that the meetings were “administrative” and warned that “should be insulated from such lobbying and such canvassing.”


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