Dáil debates

Tuesday, 12 October 2004

Adjournment Debate.

Telecommunications Services.

8:00 pm

Photo of Pat RabbittePat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter which is of such serious concern to up to 2,000 householders in my constituency and in adjoining areas of Dublin South-West.

On Friday last a number of householders who had subscribed to a direct telephone connection offered by NTL received letters warning them that it was stopping its telephone service due to safety concerns about its equipment. No details were given as to the nature of the safety concerns, but shortly afterwards NTL technicians began arriving at houses in the area to start disconnecting the telephone systems.

Two issues are involved in this case, namely, the safety question and the manner in which customers can be treated by a key service provider. Clearly the safety issue, if real, is the most important one. Householders were alarmed at the letters they had received and their concern was exacerbated by reports that two fires in houses in the area had been caused by faulty connections. I was contacted by a number of householders who had received these letters who asked me to try to find out what was going on.

I was unable on Saturday to get anyone in authority to clarify the situation, neither was any information available on the company's website. When my office eventually made contact with NTL on Monday, the company was less than forthcoming, to put it mildly. This is an appalling way to treat customers and is in stark contrast to the approach of other companies when issues of consumer safety have arisen. In these cases, it would be the norm for the company to take out advertisements, to make company representatives available for interview on news and current affairs programmes and to provide a freephone service to reassure them about the steps being taken to ensure their safety. In this case, the company did the minimum and seemed more interested in protecting itself against any legal action than in reassuring worried householders.

I welcome the statement from ComReg issued on Monday evening setting out the actions it was asking NTL to undertake, including the establishment of a dedicated freephone telephone number; discussions with other telephone service providers on the possibility of similar facilities for affected NTL customers; the establishment of call forwarding or call divert facilities; and the meeting by NTL of the direct costs which customers would otherwise have to pay. Although ComReg did not say so specifically, it is fair to infer from its statement that it was very critical of the manner in which NTL handled this controversy. I hope there will now be a very specific commitment from NTL that it will implement all the requirements set out in the ComReg statement without further delay.

The second area of concern is the way in which customers are treated by a key service provider, licensed by the State to provide for what most people is now an essential public service. There are concerns among some householders that NTL may now take advantage of this controversy to provide itself with an exit strategy from what has proved to be an unprofitable business. NTL originally offered free Internet services to those who signed up with it, but has since been attempting to pull back from this offer. Efforts were made to persuade consumers to switch to broadband.

The end result of all this is that householders are faced with cost and inconvenience. It will cost consumers up to €129 to get reconnected to the Eircom network. NTL originally indicated to consumers that it would pay for this but later suggested that it would simply offer credits to cover the cost. Neither is it clear how long this process will take. Many of those who have been hit are trades people and business people who depend on their phone service to earn their livelihood.

The whole manner in which householders have been treated by NTL has been cavalier. As a result of NTL's actions, householders are in fear for their safety, have not been given the sort of information they should be entitled to, have been left without a telephone service and face unquantified additional costs. Service providers who treat their customers in this way should be subjected to some sanction and, if ComReg does not currently have the powers to take action against companies in cases like this, then the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources should give it the power to do so.

9:00 pm

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter which highlights once again the need for a high level of awareness of fire safety and fire precautions in the home.

The regulation of the communications sector is a matter for the Commission for Communication Regulation and I cannot speak for that body in this matter. However, I understand from media reports that there is a technical problem with telephone equipment supplied to customers by NTL which could have fire safety implications and that they have contacted their customers and instructed them to disconnect the equipment. From a fire safety point of view, it is desirable that customers comply with the instruction from NTL and disconnect the equipment. If they have not already done so, I strongly advise them to do so immediately.

It would not be appropriate for me to comment on how the company should deal with this matter into the future. However, it appears that the company acted promptly on discovering the problem. It is a sobering statistic in this context that in 2003 more than 1,300 fires were attributed to problems with electrical equipment and electrical wiring. The discovery of this problem is timely as it comes in the immediate aftermath of the National Safety Council's fire safety week. This was a joint exercise with the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade which focused on the issue of fire safety in the community and reminded us of the danger fire poses for all of us. It is a sad statistic that in 2003, 51 people died in fires on the island of Ireland, many of which could and should have been prevented.

Prevention is always better than cure and we must continue to get the message across in our communities about the dangers of fire and the need for a proactive approach to fire safety in our homes.

Every year, fire brigades attend approximately 10,000 domestic fires. Each of these is a disaster for the household involved; even where there is no death or injury, the disruption and costs involved can be immense. The sad thing is that most of these fires just should not happen. I mentioned electrical fires already; other very common causes of domestic fires are unclean chimneys, failure to use fire guards and accidents involving cigarette smoking. A basic common sense approach to fire safety housekeeping could eliminate these disasters. This is the message which the Government, the fire authorities and the National Safety Council are constantly trying to get across.

Another key message is the need to have early warning systems such as smoke alarms installed and in working order in our homes. If we do that, we can and will save lives and we will be well on the way to significantly reducing the number of fire fatalities in our communities. Analysis of the fire fatalities in domestic premises in this country indicates that a smoke alarm was either not present or was not working in the majority of cases. This is a tragic fact from which we all must learn.

Fire safety in the home is the responsibility of the individual householder. Better awareness of the dangers of fire and of fire hazards, together with common sense fire prevention practices, the installation and maintenance of smoke alarms and having an escape plan, can all help to prevent and reduce the number of fires and the consequent tragic fatalities and injuries. I would ask all Members of this House to play their part in disseminating this fire safety message whenever and wherever the opportunity arises.

The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 13 October 2004.