Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy has received a further parliamentary reply regarding former Minister Michael Noonan’s meeting with representatives of Enet including PR adviser to Enet, Eoin O’Neachtain, in December 2016.
“It is not in the public interest for the department to withhold this very basic request for information or tangle it in bureaucratic red tape.”
Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy has received a further parliamentary reply regarding former Minister Michael Noonan’s meeting with representatives of Enet including PR adviser to Enet, Eoin O’Neachtain, in December 2016.
Deputy Murphy’s request to the Department of Finance for access to the records of a meeting in former Minster Noonan’s constituency office has been declined with the Department claiming that it is not practice to pass out the type of information sought.
The Department has admitted that the information is currently the subject of a freedom of information request.
Deputy Murphy said:
“It is not in the public interest for the department to withhold this very basic request for information or tangle it in bureaucratic red tape. There is a demand for this information and while it is likely to be released in due course, there is no need to withhold it any longer in view of the review underway by Peter Smyth into the procurement process of the National Broadband Plan, the scope of which is far too narrow as it currently stands.
“All components to the plan really need to be re-assessed including the questions surrounding the extension of the contract to Enet to maintain the MANs network.
“My request was accepted by the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday to bring in officials from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment to discuss the contract extension by the State without tender in 2017 to maintain the MANs network. The committee will approach this from a value for money perspective regarding the rolling-over of the contract to 2030.”
ENDS
26 October 2018