Mr. Ronan Lupton:

Not at all. What I am saying is that a surplus goes to the State of €136 million, which we pay through a levy order, while the cost of operating ComReg is €32 million. As such, there is no deficit at all in that. That clarifies the funding issue so we will park it. As we say in our submission, the resources just have to happen. That is the reality. I am aware that ComReg has written to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with a number, which I do not know but estimate at €70 million, at minimum, to buffer it up properly. That is consistent with looking at the Data Protection Commissioner and the various other semi-State regulatory bodies with significant tasks and which are, in some instances, including this one, funded by us. Hopefully, that addresses that point.

Everybody has asked me about civil sanctions and I highlight one point on that. Deputy Niall Collins has a Private Members' Bill which looks in particular at the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and arming it with civil sanction powers. Many of the regulators, including ComReg, have co-competition responsibility and co-competition powers. We say that if the Government adopts the Private Members' Bill, it should simply be extended to the other regulators which have asked for civil sanction powers. They have all made submissions to the Law Reform Commission within which Dr. Ciarán Burke is writing a report on this subject, which will probably overlap with the committee's work. It is probable that Dr. Burke's report will contain recommendations on civil sanction powers. There are constitutional issues and issues on the powers of the courts and whether a regulator can simply fine someone without the approval of the High Court. That is the current status but I do not really want to get into it for present purposes. However, I note that there is a requirement for quick and efficient sanctions. I do not want to appear like a turkey wishing for Christmas because it affects us too. We could be fined if we misbehave. It is something we are looking for structurally across the industry to give ComReg more teeth.