Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I understand why some people have a difficulty with this section. It provides an enabling mechanism to allow the Minister to make new regulations to provide for indictable offences for breaches of obligations under this Bill and to give effect to an Act adopted by the European Community relating to the provision of electronic communication services, radio spectrum, the national numbering resource or the postal services.

This provision is included because the communications sector is dynamic and fast moving. It is important to be able to legislate in a timely manner. Despite the best efforts of politicians and officials it has taken us 15 months to discuss this Bill in the House. This is a good example of why we need legislation that moves fast. As we debated the Bill, most Members agreed the rate of progress on local loop unbundling and broadband was not as fast as we would like. That is partly because ComReg did not have the power as it was not foreseen it would need that power. It is important, therefore, to have this kind of legislation and a power to change legislation quickly. The new powers proposed will enable me as Minister to implement any new changes to the framework in a timely manner and provide for effective penalties for non-compliance by undertakings for serious breaches. The current regulatory regime provides for summary proceedings with a maximum fine of €3,000 and the option of civil proceedings for non-compliance with obligations under that regime. There are no indictable offences under the European electronic communications regulatory package as transposition was carried out under the European Communities Act 1972, section 3 of which prohibits indictable offences. The intention is to facilitate the timely transposition of the EU directives in this sector together with the creation of indictable offences for certain obligations under the Bill. The Bill as drafted, however, provides for the creation of indictable offences only where summary offences exist under the regulatory pack of 2003. Non-compliance with some of the obligations was not explicitly deemed to be an offence.

Amendment No. 9 is required to provide for the creation of an offence for breach of these obligations and to provide for it to be tried summarily or on indictment. Section 46A, which deals with this, will allow for substantial penalties to be imposed on undertakings for serious offences with fines of up to €4 million or 10% of turnover.

Amendment No.16 is required to provide that where 10% of turnover is greater than €4 million the court can decide to impose a fine up to this amount as originally intended. Compliant operators have nothing to fear from any of these proposals.

The case for our amendment and the inclusion of indictable offences is compelling, particularly in light of our experience in the past four or five years in trying to regulate the market.