John Ellis (Fianna Fail)

Senator Norris has stolen an item I intended to raise, namely, the issue of line rental costs. Those costs are a disgrace. A far more serious problem must be discussed in this House regarding the entire telephone system, that is, the lack of investment by Eircom in the network. The system is ready to crash. When Eircom was sold off it was in tip top shape following significant Government investment. However, since then it has been plundered by its various owners over the past ten years

The same situation arises with regard to the mobile telephone network. Frequently one finds the system has crashed. About two weeks ago phones of people in the House went dead. In rural areas of the country calls frequently break down three or four times before one can complete the call. This is occurring more frequently than ever. We need a debate on the telecommunications industry and its future development. We do not want to end up, as in the late 1970s, with a Third World telephone system.