Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I wish the Minister well on this. The origins of the Bill came with an attempt to move from RegTel. It has been a long journey and it has gone into ducts and all kinds of unexpected places. The Bill changed title three times along the way, so it has been a curious journey, but for that reason it has been more demanding on the civil servants, and their work is appreciated.

Although I still harbour some concerns, I have no doubt that greater safeguards for the public good will be put in place and that national broadcasters will not carry services such as Play TV, which is essentially a scam and which takes advantage of people. There has been a great deal of publicity in respect of the latter as a result of comments made by the Minister and Deputy Coveney. This, more than anything, illustrated the kind of rip off that can occur when the proper oversight and scrutiny are not in place. I welcome the Bill.

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