Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

It should be short — a number of months — because this is a fast-changing area. We want to encourage investment by the private sector in the technological developments being considered at present. I do not want long and drawn out speculation on government intervention delaying investment from private operators. Considering the example of countries that were successful, Denmark and the UK — the countries we must compare ourselves against — they are successful because they have a competitive environment. The competitive spur between, for example, a cable company and a fixed line operator or another mix drives the investment that leads to higher bandwidth speeds. The Government will have a crucial role in stimulating demand, supporting where the market cannot deliver, ensuring we use existing assets in a co-ordinated way, particularly in backhaul or inducting, and changing building regulations so that all new buildings are future proofed and existing buildings are retrofitted. The primary response will come from a competitive market here.

We are seeing developments in that area. We have a more competitive market between cable companies, fixed line operators, mobile operators, 3G operators and wireless companies, all of whom are investing. We should not block that investment by holding out the carrot that the Government will step in with a magic solution. We must create the right conditions and a range of policy measures that steer us in the right direction. That will be contained in the report and will be an ongoing process.

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