Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 416: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the steps being taken to ensure that mobile phone users here are charged fair rates for texts, calls, and roaming charges and to protect customers from being overcharged by mobile phone companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46001/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Primary responsibility for the mobile phone charges rests with the relevant services providers, operating in a fully liberalised market, regulated, where appropriate, by the Independent Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).

My role is to formulate regulatory policy to facilitate the provision of high quality telecommunications services by competing private sector service providers. The Deputy may be aware, in addition to consumer protection provisions generally, that it is an offence to overcharge for telecoms services or products under the Communications Regulation (Amendment) Act of 2007.

There is already in place an EU Regulation to protect consumers against excessive mobile phone charges when roaming in other EU Member States. Ireland strongly supported the introduction of this Regulation.

Negotiations are currently in progress at EU level to extend this regulation to protect consumers against excessive text charges and to provide for greater transparency measures for consumers. At the recent EU Telecoms Council of Ministers I strongly supported the initiative by the Commission to extend the Regulation to protect consumers. I look forward to EU Member States and the European Parliament reaching a successful conclusion on these negotiations.