James Bannon (Fine Gael)

This issue must be addressed, as it has been in the NESC report. What came across very clearly is the existence of a huge deficit of courtesy shown to the public. There needs to be a better relationship between the providers and users of public services. The Government has seemingly washed its hands of this issue and nobody seems to take control and deliver a better service to the general public. What is happening is a blight on our country. When one speaks to people from other European countries who come here, one discovers that the situation in these countries is not the same. There is some degree of courtesy and there is a limit with regard to the length of time it takes to answer a person. Eircom is one of the worst performers in this area and the way in which it treats the public is annoying.