Leo Varadkar has pleaded with the opposition to support the National Broadband Plan as it emerged that the winning bidder would invest just €175 million in equity up front in the project, which could now cost €6 billion.
The taoiseach confirmed that National Broadband Ireland (NBI), backed by the winning consortium led by Granahan McCourt, would make an initial investment of €220 million: €175 million in equity and €45 million in working capital. The government had been under intense pressure for a week to reveal how much the company was putting into the plan.
Facing another day of questions about the plan in the Dáil, Mr Varadkar said that the scheme would cost up to €6 billion including Vat and contingencies in total.
He said:
