Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was deeply disappointed this week to discover that the EU has dithered and delayed on the abolition of roaming charges within the European Union. For the past year and a half people across Europe have been led up the garden path when it comes to roaming and have been told that the abolition of EU roaming charges was imminent, had passed through the Parliament and was about to be enacted. We now find the measure is likely to be delayed by three years, until the end of 2018, as a consequence of a European Council decision which has extended the deadline by which telecoms companies are obliged to end roaming charges.

Europe has let its citizens down through its dithering, indecision and willingness to give in to special interests. I am an advocate of the European project as a mechanism through which all of our lives can be made better and I am bitterly disappointed with this retrograde step. Great work was done during the past decade to make roaming cheaper and break down the invisible telecommunications borders which exist across Europe. We all know roaming is a significant money maker for telecommunications companies. Europe set about tackling that, yet now it appears it is not such an urgent issue after all. People can simply continue to pay through the nose for another three years as a consequence of the Council's dithering and indecision.

I am glad that my colleague in the European Parliament, Mr. Brian Hayes, MEP, plans on raising this important issue in seeking a reversal of the decision of the Council. What exactly is the Council hoping will change in the next three years? What is the difference between doing away with roaming charges in 2015 or leaving them in place until 2018? It seems to me there is little difference, apart from allowing the telecommunications companies to continue to rake in money hand over fist for an extra 36 months. I call on those who made this decision to reconsider it in the interests of European citizens.