Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegation. I have some questions and will try to be as specific and brief as possible.

As the delegation is aware, in 2013 the charity sector and mobile operators launched a mobile text service to ensure 100% of donations would go to charity. This was most welcome and I acknowledge it. Why does ComReg require charities to obtain a premium rate service licence when they do not appear to come within the definition of premium rate provider under the Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Act 2010? The specifics of the legislation point out that it must apply to an organisation or an individual that gains, but I do not believe charities are in the business of gaining, rather they are in the business of engaging in more altruistic work.

Does ComReg monitor the volume of text messages sent to television and radio programmes? Does it have the capacity to do this or can it provide relevant information in this regard?

There is very good fibre optic communications broadband infrastructure in the north west, namely, Project Kelvin. It extends from North America to the north westand includes Coleraine, Strabane and Letterkenny. The project is remarkably beneficial to a town such as Letterkenny. However, there is a geographical region, the Inishowen Peninsula, which is larger than County Louth and has a larger population than County Leitrim. There is concern among the people living on the peninsula that they are being put at a comparative disadvantage as a result of the lack of connectivity. Is ComReg aware of this? Does it believe the people living there are being put at a comparative disadvantage from an industrial investment point of view? Does it have plans to address the issue?

There is a specific issue in Cornagill, outside Letterkenny, where there is a household that cannot avail of broadband service because it is at the critical four-mile point. I will submit the specific information to ComReg and I am keen for the delegation to follow up on it.

My final question relates to the methodology used by ComReg. Some years ago I sat on the joint committee which was responsible for dealing with telecommunications issues. At the time the methodology used in measuring mobile phone coverage involved a person getting into his or her car and driving along the national primary routes. Is that methodology still in vogue? The reason I ask is that in a county such as Donegal, especially on the Inishowen Peninsula, there are few, if any, national primary routes. The eastern side of the Inishowen Peninsula is a disaster for mobile phone coverage. There are places in my neck of the woods where one can drive along scenic routes from Mulroy and the Fanad Peninsula to Milford or Carrigart, but there are no national primary routes. Is that methodology still being used and, if so, what plans does ComReg have to ensure it will measure mobile phone coverage in a more comprehensive and equitable manner for regions that are not near national primary routes?