Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

In relation to amendment No.15, there is a normal period of six months in which to furnish business plans in case consultation with outside interests is necessary. The Senator will recall that formal consultation with a multiplicity of stakeholders is a sine qua non for the agency and we must therefore afford it adequate time and space in which to conduct it. As I outlined on Committee Stage, by way of comparison the Communications Regulation Act, 2002, provides that the Commission for Communications Regulation, by chance established yesterday, shall adopt a strategy statement within six months of the establishment date. The commission replaces the ODTR. There is, of course, an ongoing system in place whereby my Department liaises with a company on business planning and reporting and this will not be interrupted by the transformation into an agency.