Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests. I thank Ms McNamara for a refreshingly frank and impressive presentation.

I want to drill down into a couple of key sectors that I know will be of interest to people watching at home, such as the powers of ComReg and the role Eir has played in recent years. I will start with a political point which needs to be made. The privatisation of Eir has been an absolute disaster. When the telecoms companies appeared before the committee a couple of years ago, they said as much. They said that the regulatory structure is failing the markets. This includes a lack of regulation of the incumbent and main wholesale provider, Eir. There is an imbalance in the marketplace to the detriment of consumers. This situation is not only bad for other competing operators but also for citizens with fixed broadband prices among the highest in Europe.

The European Commission's report last year, Digital Economy and Society Index, showed that Ireland has the third most expensive fixed broadband in the EU. On fixed and mobile offers, Ireland had the second most expensive. Eir is, of course, one of the most profitable incumbent telcos in Europe. Last October, ComReg looked at the Eir wholesale price and it has gone out to review. ComReg's actions seem to be taking a much more lenient approach than that advocated by the European Commission in this regard. Last year, the European Commission told the communications regulator to reduce rates for fixed-line telecommunications as a matter of urgency.

Clearly, the market is not working and householders are not benefiting. What is contained in this legislation that would benefit the householder and address the issues about Eir's powers in the marketplace?