Dáil debates

Thursday, 17 July 2014

Topical Issue Debate

Telecommunications Services Provision

2:45 pm

Photo of Catherine ByrneCatherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to bring up this important issue this afternoon.

I am very concerned at the high cost of the standing charges on Eircom bills, and bills from other service providers, being charged to senior citizens. This needs to be addressed urgently by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. A significant number of people, particularly elderly people, have contacted me in the past couple of months about their telephone bills. Some are paying up to €60 and €70 for two months but only €5 of that is for calls. The rest is the Eircom package charge, service charges and value added tax, VAT. In one bill I received, the customer's Eircom package charge was €44.42, the service charge was €4.58, calls cost €4.73 and VAT was €12.35 bringing the total to €69.55. These are very high bills. They do not represent good value for many senior citizens who struggle to pay them but are afraid to cancel their accounts.

A landline is invaluable for most senior citizens, many of whom do not have enough confidence to use a mobile telephone or are not near a mobile telephone network.

In addition, many people still need their landlines because they are of great importance for their monitored pendant alarms. When senior citizens contact me, I encourage them to retain their landlines so that they can use these devices. For many elderly people, the pendant alarm is the only lifeline that enables them to contact emergency services. I urge Eircom and other telephone companies to bring out a specially designed package for senior citizens which is more affordable and better suited to their needs.

Many Opposition Deputies have called for the reinstatement of the telephone allowance. I do not believe this is the answer. There is no simple answer. Telephone companies have been lining their pockets for many years. They are paid big bonuses and big cheques at the end of the year. It is all about profit for them.

Some €113 million was spent on the telephone allowance in 2012, but that figure had been reduced to €48 million last year. We are not in a position to go back to paying these extravagant sums to these companies, which make huge profits. Most of the people of this country are on their networks. When the telephone allowance was withdrawn last year, the current Tánaiste told us that Eircom was providing a special TalkTime package for vulnerable customers who were having difficulties paying their bills. I find it hard to meet many people who even know about this package. I would be interested to know how many people, if any, are availing of it. Are those who are on this package making savings? I have not spoken to anyone who is on this package. The people I speak to do not know anything about it. When they make inquiries with Eircom, they are told they have to wait until their current package ends before any new agreement can be reached. I do not see any reduction in any of their bills. Many vulnerable elderly people throughout the country are facing this serious issue. I ask the Minister to intervene in this regard.

2:55 pm

Photo of Alex WhiteAlex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Byrne. I am glad to have this opportunity to report to the House on the measures in place to regulate the provision of telecommunications services and the options available to users to minimise costs. Since the telecommunications market was fully liberalised in 1999, in accordance with an EU timetable, the increased convergence in telecommunications technologies has allowed mobile telephone and cable service providers to compete with the traditional fixed line service providers. Telecommunications services are now provided by commercial operators working to market economy principles. Some State intervention is necessary and permissible to ensure universal access to basic telecommunications services across the country.

The Commission for Communications Regulation is authorised to impose a universal service obligation to ensure all citizens can access basic telecommunications services at regulated retail prices that are based on the average costs for the provision of such services at any fixed location in the State. The commission recently reappointed Eircom as the universal service obligation provider of basic telecommunications services across the State. Eircom is required to set connection and line rental charges at geographical averaged prices to ensure within reason that citizens in the most rural areas pay no more for basic fixed line telecommunications access than those in the most profitable urban areas. Any proposal by Eircom to increase these prices is regulated by the commission. This approach is within the limit of the discretion allowed within the EU to regulate retail prices in a market liberalised by EU directives without distorting competition.

I was interested to hear what the Deputy had to say about Eircom's TalkTime product, which is aimed at customers who were in receipt of the Department of Social Protection's telephone allowance at 31 December 2013. The TalkTime product is charged at €19.50 per month, inclusive of VAT. This includes line rental and a call allowance of up to €5. The comparable regulated retail line rental charge is €25.78. This service was introduced by Eircom. It is a matter for other competing service providers to decide whether to match this offer. I have mentioned the increasing convergence between mobile, cable and fixed line services. It is important to advise all users to look at the alternatives to the traditional telephone to secure best value. Some mobile service providers are marketing monthly rates, including calls, below the current and reduced line rental charges. These mobile options may provide a better opportunity to users who incur the line rental charge and lower call charges.

The universal service obligation is the only means available to public bodies to regulate retail prices in the liberalised telecommunications market in compliance with EU competition rules. I say that in direct response to the Deputy's question about the opportunity for intervention on the part of the Minister or any other public entity. The opportunity for intervention is quite limited. It is limited to the universal service obligation, which is the only means available to regulate prices within the market we have. The option to impose regulated retail prices on telecommunications services providers ceased when market liberalisation took place. The limited right to regulate retail prices under a universal service obligation is implemented by the Commission for Communications Regulation. The best advice to users is to examine all the market options so they can identify a service which best meets their needs.

Photo of Catherine ByrneCatherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply and wish him well in his new role. It is great that, as he has said, landlines are cheaper in more restricted rural areas. Unfortunately, it is not possible for many of the elderly people I deal with, who are based in Dublin, to use a mobile telephone, never mind having one. Unfortunately, mobile telephones do not allow for the pendants used by many senior citizens to be monitored. I will examine the Minister's reply in detail. I did not have much time to do so because I did not receive it until the Minister was halfway through reading it. I will have to read over it. I encourage the Minister to connect with Eircom and other service providers and ask them to advertise the TalkTime package and similar offers. Some of the problem might relate to how well it is publicised. It is sometimes difficult to explain new deals to older people, in particular. Perhaps Eircom might consider putting together some kind of information leaflet on which the details of the TalkTime package would be clearly outlined. This would allow older people to understand the process up taking up a deal that is based on limited-hours usage. I hope it would also give them a chance to keep their landlines, which are vital services for many elderly people who are reluctant to use mobile phones. The process of putting money on a phone has become very difficult for them.

I thank the Minister for his answer, which I need to study. Perhaps I will come back to this issue in the future. I wish the Minister all the best in his new role. I thank him for being so helpful to me on many occasions in his past role when I was dealing with community issues.

Photo of Alex WhiteAlex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for her gracious words. I look forward to being as helpful in my new role as I hope I was able to be in my previous role. I take the points she has made on the basis of her experience and contact with her constituents, particular older people who sometimes find it difficult to change from a landline to a mobile telephone. It is a challenge for people who are used to the simpler technology of the landline to switch to a mobile phone. I also take the Deputy's point that the newer mobile phone formats are not as easily adaptable to the monitoring of pendants. This interesting and fair point had not occurred to me.

I want to respond to the Deputy's reasonable point in respect of the need to advertise or promote the TalkTime product and similar products that are made available. There is little point to having such a service unless people know that it exists. I am sure everybody would agree with that, and I believe Eircom would agree with that also. The challenge is to ensure that where services are tailored to particular needs they should be promoted, and one would hope they would be promoted. I agree with the Deputy in that regard. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and if she has any additional aspects to what we have discussed that she wants to raise with me arising from my reply, I would be happy to address those.