Dáil debates

Tuesday, 27 March 2007

Communications Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage

 

9:00 am

Photo of Noel DempseyNoel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

The commissioners examined the matter at my request and decided they could handle it without causing too much damage in the market by putting a protocol in place to help protect customers should a similar situation arise in the future. That protocol seeks to manage the risks associated with such a situation and to try to minimise disruption to customers. There was no statutory provision at that stage required for this protocol.

I listened carefully to what Deputy Broughan said on this matter and I discussed it again with my officials. To strengthen the protocol in place, I propose to request ComReg to make it a condition of an authorisation that all operators granting wholesale access to other operators to their networks or products would be obliged to give ten days notice to ComReg of an intention to withdraw such access or product. That would enable ComReg to engage with the operator concerned to try to minimise disruption to consumers. I am advised that no legislation is necessary to do that. ComReg has those powers and I intend to ask it to use them.

Regarding amendment No. 11, neither the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources nor the Communications Regulator, ComReg, has a role with regard to content. The regulation of premium rate services is the responsibility of Regtel, which is a self-regulatory industry body that authorises and supervises the content and promotion of premium rate telecom services.

What is at issue in recent coverage of premium rate telecom services is not primarily the product or the service on offer but rather the nature of the contract between the retailer, which in these cases is not a mobile phone operator, and an individual consumer. The second issue is the question of the sales practices involved. This is not an area of responsibility for the Department. It is an area of consumer protection within which Regtel operates. It falls under the remit of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the National Consumer Agency. Therefore, two bodies are responsible for this area.

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