Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask that ComReg champion the whole concept of co-location. This is about having great coverage nationwide but not a proliferation. Places like Sixmilebridge and Ennis, have their tenth and 12th mobile phone masts being put up in a small community. If one goes to Corofin, it is like walking off the edge of the world as there is no mobile phone signal. That is wrong and it needs to be built into licensing. As a national regulator, ComReg needs to watch and scrutinise the whole principle of co-location because it became a buzzword in planning about nine years ago, but it seems to have dropped off. Mobile phone companies are flaunting it. They are driven by the profits. I think it costs about €10,000 or €12,000 per unit space one rents on a mast. It makes sense because it is lucrative in an urban environment but in a rural environment why bother, as it is hassle.