Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

Will the Minister of State accept that the sale of Eircom was a disaster? A few people made themselves very rich, most notably Sir Tony O'Reilly, while the telecommunications infrastructure has been neglected and is in decay. How is it proposed to rectify the mistake of privatising Eircom? Will the Minister re-nationalise the company? Does he want to take a strategic interest as to what is happening in the telecommunications sector?

Has the Minister examined the National Pensions Reserve Fund being allowed to invest in the company's network? Those individuals involved in buying-out the company did not give a damn about our knowledge-based economy and the roll out of broadband. Ireland's telecommunications infrastructure is languishing behind those of other countries in Europe. While we hold ourselves up as greatly advanced in our telecommunications, we are the laughing stock of Europe. People in Galway have difficulties in getting e-mail services. Will the Minister rely on the market and these private investors who are more interested in profit than the public good?

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