Catherine Murphy wants to know why Enet’s lucrative contract was renewed without a competitive tender

Enet’s lucrative contracts to run dozens of local broadband networks across the country were extended without a competitive tender process even though serious concerns were raised by one of its main customers, The Times can reveal.

The Irish telecoms company holds a contract with the state to manage and operate the country’s 94 metropolitan area networks (Mans), which consist of state-owned fibre optic cables and enable telecoms operators to connect their broadband customers.

The company effectively acts as a wholesaler for network access, selling it to other companies. It was also publicly leading the last remaining consortium bidding for the National Broadband Plan until recently, but remains part of the bid team.

Concerns have been raised that the contract was renewed in 2017 in the