Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The point I made — at least sometimes Deputy Higgins and I agree — was that we have implementation in this country in that we have succeeded in forcing the companies on this issue. Obviously we had to get their co-operation as well. We have done that with the two large companies, O2 and Vodafone. We have already achieved that in this country.

I also made the point that it could happen right across Europe. Obviously the Commission must take that up. I hope that it can do it quickly. It requires the Commission to put pressure on the companies and it is in a strong position to do so. I outlined to the meeting what we had successfully done in this country, not by legislation, regulation or law, but by the powers of persuasion. I also outlined the Border region, where people must travel as part an all-island economy, as a good example of where people will be able to travel to do business without any roaming charges. I urged the Commission to follow our example.

Its announcement yesterday suggests that when it reflected on the Irish experience and the support I received at the Council, the Commission has now adopted that as policy and will try to implement it. I do not have control over what will happen in terms of the timescale but if they put their weight behind this, as I agree they should, then we will see improvements for the hard working Irish people who own properties all over Europe and who spend large parts of their summers abroad.

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