Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At a meeting our party had with some of the industry providers in June, they spoke about examining some areas and perhaps turning up the power in those areas. This type of language frightened me because they were saying that if they increased the power there would be better coverage, but why is this not the case? According to legislation and statutory instrument there must be 70% coverage of the population. This should be increased to 100% of the population. The people from Kishkeam, Rockchapel and Freemount in my area, or any other towns, villages and communities with bad or no mobile phone coverage from Kerry to Donegal or Galway to Dublin, should not be disenfranchised. Why should they be without mobile phone coverage? RTE had 99.9% coverage back in the 1960s when it was first established. The technology has developed beyond what was contemplated 50 years ago. Why do these companies not provide mobile phone coverage? It is a crisis. Will the Minister of State not move it to a committee but rather take it on himself, with his senior colleague and the communications regulator, to embark within a couple of weeks on finding out the mobile phone coverage available to the citizens of the State in every community the length and breadth of the country?

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