asked the Minister for Communications if he accepts the accuracy of figures produced by the Small Firms Association, that telephone and telephone rental costs are, respectively, 23 per cent and 35 per cent higher in Ireland than on average in the nine original EC member states.
Ceisteanna-Questions. Oral Answers. - Telephone Costs.
12.
I saw the report referred to by the Deputy. As I have said in this House many times before, a straight comparison of tariffs among different countries is not meaningful because of the variety and complexity of pricing structures and for other reasons.
I am aware that some charges for telephone services in Ireland are above the EC average and it was principally this fact that prompted reductions of 20 per cent, 25 per cent and, in some cases, 30 per cent in international call charges from October 1988. I am keeping the possibility of further reductions by Telecom Éireann in telephone charges under review but this possibility will, of course, depend on the company's financial position from year to year.
I accept that charges for domestic trunk calls are among the highest in Europe. However, a reduction in this area could be contemplated only in the context of a re-balancing of domestic telephone charges and this possibility is under consideration by Telecom Éireann at present. While the report correctly points out that local calls can vary in duration and distort comparison, it fails however, to take into account that rental charges in Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy and Germany also vary according to the number of customers available at the local call rate or the geographical location of the customer. Direct comparisons are not, therefore, possible.
Is it not possible to make gross comparisons?
Unfortunately it is not because there are so many variables. For example there is no time limit on domestic calls in Ireland whereas there is in Europe. That is just one example of the difficulty in making comparisons.
In his reply the Minister has used a delicate phrase that politicians should remember, "rebalancing domestic telephone charges." It is the nicest way I have heard of saying that one's telephone bill is going to be increased. Could the Minister explain how domestic telephone charges are unbalanced at the moment? Who is getting more benefit than they should and who is getting too little? How does the Minister and Telecom Éireann propose to rebalance them?
Telecom Éireann are looking at rebalancing of pricing which effectively means reducing long distance charges and increasing local charges. There is no getting away from that. Without local call timing this would not be possible and this cannot be introduced until customer confidence in the billing system has improved. I agree with Deputy Mitchell that it is a mess at the moment. The whole area is being looked at by Telecom Éireann and the aim is to reduce costs as far as possible for the general public. The internal trunk system is very expensive and this is affecting business. We want to see these costs brought down as soon as possible.
Am I to take it that the Minister is saying that the Irish Small Firms Association, in claiming that telephone charges are 23 per cent higher here on average than in Europe, are giving misleading information?
I would not say that they are wrong. There is a differential. Trunk calls within the Republic are too expensive in comparison with Europe.
The Minister said that Telecom Éireann are looking at the charges. How soon would he expect a response from Telecom Éireann. When would he hope to restructure or rebalance the charges?
I would not put a time-scale on it because it is all interlinked with our financial position but the Deputy will know as soon as a decision is made. It is a matter for Telecom Éireann to come back with their proposals.