Mr. Torlach Denihan:

I could not possibly attempt to answer his questions but I will ask my colleague, Ms Cullen from Vodafone Ireland, to address some of them.

The Senator also referred to Eircom. I suggest that this matter could be taken up off-line or perhaps Mr. Galvin may wish to comment on it now. Mr. Galvin and Mr. Woods are well placed to discuss broadband speeds.

I agree with Deputy Harrington with regard to the expectation gap, which is enormous. We fully understand the concerns of all Members of the Oireachtas in respect of this matter. We are also concerned about it. The overall percentages in respect of households which either have or do not have access to high-speed broadband will be revealed - down to the level of individual building or premises - by the mapping exercise. On the basis of what the Department stated last month, we understand the information will be published in a number of weeks. I presume it will be forthcoming by year end. The industry does not have one map in the context of mobile coverage. However, there is almost near universal availability of basic mobile services. Ms Cullen and Mr. Hughes may wish to comment on this matter.

Deputy McCarthy referred to the inconsistency of approach among local authorities. A number of issues arise in this regard. I will provide a simple example. If an operator needs to run a cable from one location to another and if this involves moving between different local authority areas, different permits may be required. Sometimes the technical information local authorities require from operators will also differ. In response to requests from within the industry, a move to a national licensing system for road openings is in the pipeline.