Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. O'Connor for his time. I also thank Mr. O'Brien, on whom we did not exert a huge amount of pressure. A number of important issues have been raised. The committee needs to hear from ComReg, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and National Broadband Ireland in regard to some of the issues that members raised. We will revisit this issue and we will continue to engage with the witnesses on it. Dr. O'Connor clearly has a passion for this particular issue. I again thank him and Mr. O'Brien for their participation and their comprehensive contributions.

Before we conclude, I would like to comment on the mobile phone and broadband task force. Much of the work done by the task force was at a very technical level. While it will improve mobile and broadband coverage, people do not actually see that. One of the very significant pieces of work that was done that has a direct impact on consumers is the mobile coverage maps. Christmas is a time of the year when many people will upgrade their mobile phones. I plead with people, before purchasing mobile phones and signing contracts with whatever operator they choose, to visit the ComReg website where they can see the map, input their Eircode postcode and find out which provider can provide them with a service in their homes and communities. There is not much point in a person buying a cheap package from a particular operator only to find out that it does not provide coverage in his or her location. The information is available to people. A massive amount of work was done behind the scenes to make this happen. Before purchasing mobile phones, people need to visit the ComReg website in order to discover which service suits their particular location.