Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

Of course it would but it was important to have these measures in place if we were going introduce competition. The regulator admitted in recent consultation papers its intention to withdraw from regulation when sufficient competition develops in the market. Competition is in its infancy and we will have to see how it grows. We are talking about 80,000 customers in a few weeks compared to 2 million in the market place. More progress is necessary and it is too early to make any decisions. It is a short-term strategy until there is real competition in the market place.

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