Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad and the progress of this Bill through the Houses. This Bill will allow ComReg to facilitate increased competition in the Irish telecommunications market, a goal of which I am very much in favour. Increased competition will enhance the provision of vital telecommunications infrastructure and should result in lower prices and greater choice for consumers. It should also encourage greater uptake of broadband across the country. Like Senator Quinn, I know that competition is the driving force in change and innovation. Competition is critical because nothing will improve if we do not have it in every area, including in elections to the Oireachtas. I wish the Minister of State success in the forthcoming general election.

Even though broadband uptake is increasing, it is nowhere near the level we should expect of a country as rich as Ireland. In its broadband telecommunications benchmarking report for 2004, Forfás ranks Ireland in first place in international broadband connectivity. This means Ireland is ahead of Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and France. International connectivity means the ability of a broadband user to connect to users in other countries through international broadband networks. At the launch of the 2004 report, Adrian Devitt, senior policy analyst at Forfás, stated that this is why we can attract companies such as Google and eBay. Broadband is critically important for multinational or indigenous companies that are producing goods for export, since the ability to move information is as important as the ability to move goods. For small businesses and households, broadband promotes IT skills and increases productivity in the economy. I have wireless broadband at home and it is a great pleasure to move my laptop all over the house with no wired connections. That encourages people to use it more often. It is quick and fast and there is no big deal about it.

Martin Cronin, chief executive of Forfás, stated last November that broadband services are critical for the attraction of foreign direct investment, for the development of indigenous industry and for the promotion of the knowledge economy. The increasing importance of services to the economy, particularly those structured around electronic transactions and information flows, makes it essential that Ireland has access to reliable and cost-competitive communications services. The broadband benchmarking update, also produced by Forfás last November, highlighted the need for increased competition in the sector. Countries with the highest broadband take-up rates are those that have competitive markets for the supply of broadband services. The protection and promotion of competition that will be ensured by this Bill is to be welcomed wholeheartedly. I sincerely hope the Bill heralds a new era for telecommunications in Ireland.