Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Responsibility for the regulation of premium rate telephone numbers and their advertising, including those referred to in the Deputy's question, is a matter for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, and the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. The BAI and ComReg are independent statutory bodies and as such, I have no direct role in the matter.

The enactment of the Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Act 2010 transferred responsibility for the regulation of premium rate services, PRS, in the State from the Regulator of Premium Rate Telecommunications Services Limited, RegTel, to ComReg. In relation to the regulation of premium rate services, ComReg, as the competent authority in this jurisdiction, has a code of practice in place. The code derives from the original RegTel code and has been operated by ComReg since July 2010, pending the further development of a code in this area. Service providers of premium rate telecommunications services are required to comply with the provisions of the code of practice. There are a number of specific provisions in the code which are pertinent to the advertisement of premium rate chat services. Chat line services of the type to which the Deputy refers are not defined as sexual entertainment services, but rather as virtual chat services. However, the code of practice addresses services of a sexual nature, in section 8.4. Consequently, it includes provisions governing the promotion of such services. It also stipulates, under section 5.2 and, in particular, section 5.2.3, that service providers must ensure services are not used in any way to promote or facilitate prostitution. Compliance with the code is a matter for ComReg. Having considered the Deputy's concerns, I will request that it inform him directly of any compliance measures it has taken to date under the code, both generally and specifically with regard to these advertisements.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The BAI has responsibility for certain types of advertising rules. Section 8(9) of its general commercial communications code, GCCC, makes general provisions for premium rate telecommunications services and requires that commercial communications for such services comply with Irish and European legislation and the rules, regulations and codes of practice issued from time to time. The GCCC also makes a more general provision in relation to matters of offence, harm and dignity. A range of rules under section 3.2 of the code deal with these issues. I note the strong concerns the Deputy has expressed on this matter which I will relay to the BAI and ComReg.

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