Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I opted for an independent advisory forum because such a forum worked in the past. An international advisory forum was used in 1999 and it came up with excellent advice which led to the investment in the Global Crossing infrastructure which proved to be of enormous benefit to the country. It is a process that has proved its worth.

The Deputy will be aware that there are significant commercial interests at play. We are dealing with a complex, fast changing market. It is difficult to find people in this country who do not have a vested interest one way or the other in the commercial outcome of the policy decisions we make. In the circumstances it is right to use experts to act as a sounding board on the policy direction we are taking because they do not have a commercial interest in the outcome or the development. It was a group of experts from mobile, fixed line, regulatory, government service, European, English, American and Asian backgrounds.

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