Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

As I stated earlier, the telecommunications market in Ireland is fully liberalised and open.

Statutory responsibility for the regulation of the electronic communication sector rests with the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, under the Communications Regulation Act 2002 and the regulations transposing the EU Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications Networks and Services.

As the Minister with responsibility for policy in the sector, I am concerned about the disruption and inconvenience caused to so many customers and I have asked ComReg to examine how, in light of the recent situation regarding Smart Telecom, this could best be prevented from happening in the future. All options, including legislation if necessary, will be considered following that review.

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