Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I do not doubt the Minister's good intentions and I hope he sees this issue from our point of view. I accept his point, but we are trying to take it on board and determine what concerns remain. The subject of these amendments is one such issue of concern. There will be no ministerial oversight or intervention. ComReg is not answerable. The idea behind introducing independent mediation was to assure us ComReg would not be judge and jury, only one or the other.

As to the amendment on charges, the Minister made copious references to subsection (8), but it does not cover the issue. Perhaps there is an intention to do so, but I do not see how the subsection deals with the issue of people cherry-picking which services to tender for. How can we be assured the rights of everyone, including the taxpayer, will be treated fairly by that approach? This issue has not been addressed.

Under section 28(8), ComReg shall:

take into account--

(a) the reasonableness of the terms and conditions relating to access to the postal network concerned,

(b) the interests of postal service users,

(c) the need to ensure and maintain the efficient provision of a universal postal service,

(d) the availability of alternatives to the access sought,

(e) the development of competition in the market for postal services,

(f) the feasibility of granting the access sought, and

(g) any requirements imposed by any enactment.

None of these provisions addresses the issue. I do not know how ComReg deals with the question of balancing costs. I accept the Minister's point and, in a perfect world, I would not need to make this argument, but every time we have removed authority from a political head, namely, a Minister, and given it to some other group, such as the HSE, we are sorry some years later that we did not leave more room to become involved. Not that there is any great value in consistency, but I have been consistently worried about removing responsibility from a Minister. I have never liked it. Ministers should deal with issues and people should respond to that politically. The HSE is off on its own and we are doing the same in the context of this Bill. In two or three years time, people will undoubtedly be standing in this Chamber and making speeches about how ComReg can do what it wants, that no one can talk to it or tell it what to do and that it is not answerable to anyone. The Minister knows the speech. I am not saying this with any negativity towards the current incumbent. Rather, I am considering how to deal with what could go wrong.

I share the Minister's point about the protection afforded by the Bill and I have no fundamental difficulty with this transposition of a European position. We must do so and we are getting on with it. I am proposing ways to ensure what we do values and protects that which we want to value and protect. We must also look to the future and try to anticipate the difficulties that might arise.