Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Broadband Service Provision: Discussion

12:30 pm

Mr. John O'Dwyer:

I will finish up on functional separation. The concept of functional separation is about creating space between the wholesale division of Eir and its retail division. Creating that space helps one to understand whether there is any discrimination or poor treatment taking place. In a functionally separated world, the wholesale division would still be owned by Eircom and ultimately controlled by it from the top. However, its focus would be set as wholesale and the employees in that wholesale division would be incentivised with a bonus structure or whatever to sell wholesale services. They would not be incentivised to sell whole-of-group services. If they are incentivised for the whole group, they get a benefit if retail makes a lot of money as well as wholesale.