Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Bill. The Minister explained the legislation both adequately and at great length.

Section 22 relates to instances where operators cease business, which was a major difficulty in the past but which will now be catered for. I worked in this area when premium calls were first introduced and I am aware that with regard to disputed accounts, 80% of the problems that arose related to such calls. Disputes might arise where a babysitter might have called a premium line without the permission of the owner of the house where they were babysitting. When we consulted the printout, it was nearly always the case that a large telephone bill related to a premium call. It is possible for people to prevent the making of outgoing calls to premium lines on their telephones and this should be made clear to them.

Senator O'Reilly referred to certain game shows on television and mentioned TV3 in particular. I recall listening to an edition of Joe Duffy's "Liveline" programme on which someone admitted to spending €500 on calls to one of these shows in a couple of weeks. I do not know why but at 2 o'clock one morning, I decided to spend some time watching the programme on TV3 to which Senator O'Reilly referred. I will try to provide Members with some idea of what happens on these shows. They give out the name of a well known fishing village in Wexford and leave three letters blank in the middle. Anybody could work it out by looking up a map or an index - it would be no problem. I rang the number myself four times to see what would happen. I got the message that I did not get through to the studio that time, encouraging me to try again and wishing me better luck the next time. This kept going on and on. People do not get through. I watched it for a full hour and nobody got through during that hour. I believe that is extortion and should be tackled. The advertising is slick and people do not realise it until they start and they can get addicted to it very easily because it seems so simple. They believe they will win £500 in a few minutes if they keep ringing. It then keeps going up and nobody gets through. That is nothing short of extortion.

The other problem is with people leaving telephones unattended in their houses. When I worked in Telecom Éireann the reason for the majority of disputed accounts related to premium rate calls made by babysitters and so on. People did not realise the exorbitant cost involved when they made these calls. The cost of €1.50 per minute, or whatever, appears in very small print at the bottom of the screen. People do not realise the true cost until they get the bill. I hope we can rectify that matter.

The other provisions of the Bill are to be welcomed and I have no problem with it. I thank the Minister.