Results 31,301-31,320 of 34,780 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: Were the customers who were left without the service for the extended period compensated by the money that resulted from the fine paid by Eircom?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: Chairman, if that is a provision of the legislation, we should recommendation that it be revisited. If Eircom's customers were left without a phone service for a time in excess of an acceptable period, and Eircom had to pay a sum of money in lieu of not meeting its contract, in my opinion it would be logical to compensate the customer who was left without a service.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: I will now address my questions to Mr. Dermot Nolan from the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER. Does CER regulate Eirgrid?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: I have put this question to both ESB and Eirgrid and I now wish to hear Mr. Nolan's response. Under the Grid 25 Plan, it is proposed to generate electricity through renewable energy and run pylons from the west to the population on the east coast. Mr. Nolan and I know that people will not want to see the erection of pylons across the landscape on the scale proposed. We both know this...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: Does CER have a role in regard to the east-west interconnector that is under the Irish Sea because that facilitates the importation of electricity and the possible export of electricity in the future? There are proposals for wind farms and I am sure Mr. Blaney is aware that people want to produce electricity for the export market. Will the commission be regulating that generation of...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: Mr. Chisholm might have answered my question so I shall return to one aspect that intrigues me. I shall talk about Vodafone because I have seen it noted as the largest supplier at the moment. He said that Vodafone, under a previous licence, had to provide 99% coverage of the population.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: Is he now saying that for 3G it only needs to provide 85% coverage?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: That is what he said a moment ago.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: Is Mr. Chisholm talking about Apple and Samsung smartphones and that type of technology?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: I am referring to 3G and that is probably the essence of the problem. The Irish population had 99% coverage provided by their mobile telephone operators when they used the traditional mobile telephones. Is Mr. Chisholm saying that 14% of those who have moved to 3G have now been told to get lost and are not covered under the licence? I am unhappy about that. Why did the licence provided by...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: The new provision is unfair to consumers. The commission has a responsibility to inform consumers that when they migrate to 3G, having spent between €500 and €600, 15% of the population will not have a signal, and the commission will not require the mobile provider to provide one. Will Mr. Chisholm to explain the position?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: Is the communications regulator telling me that for part of the industry that he regulates he did not allow all of these smartphones onto the market? He knows that they are on the market but he granted licences to Vodafone, O2 Meteor and all of the other companies for a 3G signal for their smartphones. He said that he knew at the time that the spectrum would not provide the 99% coverage to...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: No, the regulator said that he was going to release spectrum.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: I do not understand any of this stuff. We are lay people.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: When will we have the spectrum? When will the signal improve?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: I understand. It is an awful pity that people like the regulator, who knew, did not tell the public that 15% of them who bought a smartphone would not have coverage where they lived. It is a pity that somebody did not tell us before we bought smartphones.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: I ask the regulator to send the committee a note. I have heard that some of the other companies did not meet the 85% target and may improve.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: That is no thanks to the regulator but is due to the providers wanting to attract customers.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: People look to the regulator to protect customers. It is the luck of God, goodwill and commercial activity that some of the operators have exceeded the commission's targets. Why did the regulator set such low targets compared with the 2G licence which required 99% coverage?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Seán Fleming: They are lower than what people with mobile telephones were used to. The regulator reduced the requirement under the licence. I have heard a lower figure than 85% coverage cited for some of the other operators. Please forward the information to the committee. I am disappointed that people bought or upgraded their old mobile telephones but the regulator knew all long that there was...