Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I am thankful for the opportunity to raise this matter. I do not think there is a Deputy, Senator or councillor who does not know what prompted me to table it for debate. I do not know of a measure to gauge the frustration and anger that exist but I suggest that both are off the scale. The number of people who have contacted public representatives, providers, particularly Eir, and the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, is unprecedented. I appreciate the challenges of Covid-19 but the customer service and the type of response being provided to people are completely inexcusable.

The level of frustration expressed by members of the transport and communications committee earlier on when we had the CEO from Eir before us reflected the wider frustration and anger among the population and the users of those services in particular. The meeting could have gone on all day such was the level of engagement and the number of concerns that people had to raise. As I said, I appreciate that Covid is a particular challenge but I do not accept that as an excuse from Eir or any other provider because some of these issues have been around since long before Covid-19. Eir came before the committee today and apologised for the service and promised a better future, but we have been listening to those promises for a long time and I, for one, am not confident that they will be realised. Consequently, people are caught in a catch-22 situation; they feel that they have nowhere to turn and that they are not getting a response. Many people will have seen the RTÉ "Prime Time" programme last night. It was proof positive that some of the claims being made by these companies are not actually being realised in practical terms. The average waiting times are one such example. I would be interested to hear what the median is because very many people are waiting far in excess of ten minutes and often up to 40 minutes. I have seen Facebook and other social media posts about people waiting on the line for in excess of two hours. At the root of this is a lack of accountability, an impotence, if you like, on behalf of the regulator and it is this House that legislates for the regulator. We should not have privatised these industries; that is part of the problem here and we are paying the price for it. Huge damage has been done to the public's confidence in this sector and a lot of work must be done to address it.

I am glad the Minister is here. I want to know what he has done to engage with the sector to address this issue and to improve it in the time ahead.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this issue, which was also raised by the Ceann Comhairle on Question Time in the House two weeks ago.

The electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within the European Union regulatory regime wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised and competitive. Responsibility for the regulation of those electricity and gas markets is solely a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. However, I understand the Deputy is referring directly to the recent published coverage of the telecommunications customer service issues.

It is important to note that the provision of the telecommunications services occurs within a fully liberalised market regulated by the independent market regulator, ComReg. The latter is responsible for the regulation of the electronic communications sector in accordance with national and EU legislation. As part of its role, ComReg implements the telecommunications regulatory framework which requires each telecommunications service provider to establish and operate a code of practice, including requirements for complaint handling and means of contact with customers. Service providers must implement these measures, at a minimum, to assist consumers when they need to contact them with a complaint. A copy of the code of practice can be accessed online at www.comreg.ie.Any operator failing to comply with any of these requirements is a matter to be pursued by ComReg.

ComReg is aware of the unhappiness with the level of customer service currently being provided by telecommunications operators and by Eir in particular. In this regard, it has been in regular discussions with the company in an effort to address the current deficiencies in its customer care service. I understand that while Eir recently experienced a significantly higher turnover in consumer care staff, it is proactively engaging with ComReg and improvements have been made to its customer services in recent times. ComReg has published on its website a detailed note on all the actions it has taken to resolve those customer care issues. This information includes a recommendation that customers who have complaints should in the first instance contact the service provider using its customer complaints number.

Regarding Eir specifically, ComReg advises that the company has two customer complaints numbers: Eir at Home and Eir Business. Details of these are provided on the ComReg website.

ComReg understands that wait times for these complaint numbers are substantially lower and more acceptable than Eir's general customer service number. Customers whose complaint has not been sufficiently dealt with by the service provider within ten working days should contact ComReg, which will then contact the provider on the customer's behalf to resolve the complaint. I recognise that further work remains to be done and, consequently, in discussion with the Department, ComReg continues to review what additional measures could be taken to assist in protecting consumer interests. This includes consideration of what, if any, further legislative or non-legislative changes the regulator considers necessary and appropriate.

Furthermore, the Tánaiste and I recently met Eir and Vodafone to raise concerns about customer care issues. Today, Eir appeared before the Oireachtas joint committee, where the Deputy had the opportunity to discuss the matter directly with management of the company. I am certain the telecommunications customer care issues will be resolved in the short term. This is a critical issue. As the Deputy said, widespread complaints have been raised in the House and all of us take it particularly seriously. Some of the ways it has been raised here, including in comments by the Ceann Comhairle, have helped bring the matter to the attention of the wider public and I hope this is one way that will make sure things do change.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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It is important to put on the record that the scale of the problem has not been properly reflected in the figures that have been made public. Last night, for example, RTÉ reflected on the number of complaints that ComReg dealt with, which was 1,062 over a three-month period. It also had a number of other queries. In fact, only a fraction of the people who have problems and issues with these providers ever go to ComReg. Earlier today, Eir told us it deals with the massive number of 230,000 calls a month. We know the frustration of a significant percentage of these people is related to the decrease in the number of call centre staff and the delay in getting a response. We should be frank regarding the scale of the problem. It is not reflected in the ComReg figures, with the greatest of respect to the commission. The Minister is correct that we should say loud and clear from here with regard to Eir that people should be encouraged to use the 1800 number instead of the 1901 number because this can make a difference.

With regard to the his responsibility and the role of ComReg to enforce the code of practice, at present the code of practice is not a deterrent. It is essentially a voluntary scheme and the slap on the wrist amounts to nothing, perhaps a €5,000 fine for a company such as Eir that makes profits of €222 million. ComReg wants and needs more power. It is looking for it and the Government has committed to this in the programme for Government. When will we see the legislation?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Deputy is correct that the numbers are only a small reflection of the problems that exist. However, the numbers do help to give some indicative sense of where the problem is, and in this instance the volume of complaints about problems with Eir's fixed line service was multiples of the next nearest company, Vodafone, which was, in turn, a multiple of the next nearest company. It also shows clearly that the problem was with fixed line services rather than mobile. It also reflects that not only was Covid a partial cause of some of the difficulties that arose but also a real cause of concern for householders because at this time more than any other, people need their fixed broadband service. The scale of the problem is beyond compare, as the Deputy said, and cannot be underestimated.

When it comes to further remedies or further actions, the Department, and I as Minister, keep in regular contact with ComReg, while recognising it is an independent regulator. To work best it has to have independence to be able to sanction and make calls on investment or other criteria. If there are proposals from ComReg regarding using its powers to help implement the customer codes, the Government will be immediately forthcoming. This is not a constraint that will limit our ability to make sure customer care improves. We will absolutely work in collaboration with ComReg to make sure it has all of the power it needs to manage the issue.

Wait times for calls and the inability to get through to someone is the most frustrating aspect, and then when people finally do get through they are so exasperated that it is not an easy conversation. The wait times I hear reported from the company have improved in recent weeks. The worst of this problem emerged in late summer and early autumn in terms of the inability of Eir to hold onto the staff it needed and the increase in demand from customers who, because of Covid, had genuine complaints and reason to complain. This variety of circumstances has somewhat been addressed in terms of, I understand, shorter and improved response times but if there is any call from ComReg for further powers for it to be able to further police this, the Government will respond straight away.