Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications
Caller Helpline: Samaritans Ireland and Telecommunications and Internet Federation
9:30 am
Mr. Pat Galvin:
On the broadband speeds issue, nearly all the Samaritans branches are in urban areas. As we indicated, we are rolling out Eircom next-generation access networks, which are giving substantially higher speeds. The situation will evolve over the coming years as Mr. Moore and his colleagues work out what they need. We expect to be able to meet whatever demand they have.
The current sponsorship arrangement relates to the cost of calling the 116 number, but there are other associated costs, as Mr. Moore outlined, in regard to equipment and bandwidth rental. All of that is separate. As Mr. Moore said, the industry is co-operating fully in terms of where those lines will be located and which organisations will provide them. That is all very much on the commercial side and we will be absolutely constructive in that regard.
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