Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter which is of such serious concern to up to 2,000 householders in my constituency and in adjoining areas of Dublin South-West.

On Friday last a number of householders who had subscribed to a direct telephone connection offered by NTL received letters warning them that it was stopping its telephone service due to safety concerns about its equipment. No details were given as to the nature of the safety concerns, but shortly afterwards NTL technicians began arriving at houses in the area to start disconnecting the telephone systems.

Two issues are involved in this case, namely, the safety question and the manner in which customers can be treated by a key service provider. Clearly the safety issue, if real, is the most important one. Householders were alarmed at the letters they had received and their concern was exacerbated by reports that two fires in houses in the area had been caused by faulty connections. I was contacted by a number of householders who had received these letters who asked me to try to find out what was going on.

I was unable on Saturday to get anyone in authority to clarify the situation, neither was any information available on the company's website. When my office eventually made contact with NTL on Monday, the company was less than forthcoming, to put it mildly. This is an appalling way to treat customers and is in stark contrast to the approach of other companies when issues of consumer safety have arisen. In these cases, it would be the norm for the company to take out advertisements, to make company representatives available for interview on news and current affairs programmes and to provide a freephone service to reassure them about the steps being taken to ensure their safety. In this case, the company did the minimum and seemed more interested in protecting itself against any legal action than in reassuring worried householders.

I welcome the statement from ComReg issued on Monday evening setting out the actions it was asking NTL to undertake, including the establishment of a dedicated freephone telephone number; discussions with other telephone service providers on the possibility of similar facilities for affected NTL customers; the establishment of call forwarding or call divert facilities; and the meeting by NTL of the direct costs which customers would otherwise have to pay. Although ComReg did not say so specifically, it is fair to infer from its statement that it was very critical of the manner in which NTL handled this controversy. I hope there will now be a very specific commitment from NTL that it will implement all the requirements set out in the ComReg statement without further delay.

The second area of concern is the way in which customers are treated by a key service provider, licensed by the State to provide for what most people is now an essential public service. There are concerns among some householders that NTL may now take advantage of this controversy to provide itself with an exit strategy from what has proved to be an unprofitable business. NTL originally offered free Internet services to those who signed up with it, but has since been attempting to pull back from this offer. Efforts were made to persuade consumers to switch to broadband.

The end result of all this is that householders are faced with cost and inconvenience. It will cost consumers up to €129 to get reconnected to the Eircom network. NTL originally indicated to consumers that it would pay for this but later suggested that it would simply offer credits to cover the cost. Neither is it clear how long this process will take. Many of those who have been hit are trades people and business people who depend on their phone service to earn their livelihood.

The whole manner in which householders have been treated by NTL has been cavalier. As a result of NTL's actions, householders are in fear for their safety, have not been given the sort of information they should be entitled to, have been left without a telephone service and face unquantified additional costs. Service providers who treat their customers in this way should be subjected to some sanction and, if ComReg does not currently have the powers to take action against companies in cases like this, then the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources should give it the power to do so.

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