Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives of ComReg for the presentation and coming before the committee. It is disappointing that the witnesses are using the excuse of matters being sub judice in not answering certain questions. A High Court decision has been made and nothing that would be said here or elsewhere will change that, even if the matter goes to the Supreme Court. We will not give ammunition to anybody else, taking into account what has already been said. It is crucial for us to find out what methodology can be used by ComReg in judging performance and how it came to a stage where a fine will be imposed. The fine is a massive amount of money. Has any other company faced a fine of that nature? The company in question would not be as rich as many others and the fine seems to be very excessive. Perhaps the witnesses can tell me if any other company faced a bigger fine than this?

Are complaints from customers used in the measurement process, bringing an action against a company or imposing a fine? An Post has one way of measuring its performance and ComReg has a different method; they do not meet in the middle as there is a slight difference between them. Surely there should be a common way of judging the performance of a company. I do not know why there are two different methods, as it does not seem to make sense. As far as I can gather, in other European countries there is a common methodology that is widely recognised. Mr. Chisholm mentioned the use of consultancy firms, giving the figure of €1.3 million. I presume there are consultancies in dealing with companies other than An Post. There must massive amounts of money in question if this is only to deal with An Post. I would like a flavour of the range and costs in using outside advisers, consultancy firms, etc.

As far as I am aware, An Post has one of the lowest postal rates in Europe, although Mr. Chisholm may tell me if it has not. I do not recall an increase being imposed for many years. This can be contrasted with ESB and Bord Gáis, which are making millions of euro. I cannot fathom how those increases are justified. When the privatisation leading to the current ESB and Bord Gáis began, many areas were fattened up in order to sell to private concerns.

The price increases were unnecessary. The cost of Ireland's electricity was one of the lowest in Europe at the time. Now we seem to be paying much more while the companies in question are making significant profits. What is the justification? It does not make sense.

How does the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, work with the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation, NIAUR? Is there constant communication and regular meetings to monitor how well everything is working North and South?