asked the Minister for Communications whether he has received any submissions in response to his recently published leaflets on MMDS; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - MMDS Leaflets.
33.
I have not received any such submissions.
Will the Minister say if he will be giving people a reasonable opportunity to make submissions before he proceeds to bring regulations before the House?
I will be signing the regulations on the MMDS tomorrow.
Will the Minister agree that giving people a little over a week to provide a detailed response to the discussion document is hardly fair to those who have misgivings about the operation of MMDS?
We have received a certain amount of correspondence in the Department regarding MMDS since its introduction was announced. Some letters sought information while others supported the illegal UHF broadcasters. The publication of the MMDS booklet has not made any change in the type of letter received by the Department. It was not identified as a document to elicit response; it was an information document. I thought it was so well laid out that it answered any possible question that might have arisen.
For those — and there are many — who feel that the issues of the commercial viability of this system, as well as other aspects, have not been answered in sufficient detail, will there be a period during which these issues can be discussed more fully before the regulations come into force?
I notice that the commercial viability aspect was answered very fully by the remaining applicant for the television service to the Independent Radio and Television Commission under the legislation that was brought forward last year. As I said, we have been discussing this matter for a number of months. The Deputy expressed his concern on a number of occasions in this House at the slowness of the decision making in relation to the signing of the order. I can assure him that it will now be signed and put on the table of the House tomorrow.
The Minister waited six months before giving us this assessment. Now he is giving us the results in ten days——
Please, Deputies. If Deputies are offering they ought to rise in their places and be called by the Chair in the normal way.
The Minister's reply is a little disconcerting. For some time we have been asking him about the increased cost to the consumer. The document he published did not show what the increased cost of the MMDS system would be to the consumer. Is the Minister satisfied that the consumer will be able to bear the enromous increased cost involved with this system?
There is a question on the Order Paper in relation to cost. As I said in reply to many questions, I expect the MMDS charges to be of the same order as the most modern cable systems. I gave that reply in the past and my expectation has not changed in that regard. It is anticipated that there will be a connection charge of about £100 and the annual fee will also be about £100 per consumer — that is on the basis of the applications I have received. I do not believe that is excessive in view of the wide range of choice that will be available in rural Ireland, which will be similar to the choice that is available in urban Ireland. I believe the people in rural Ireland are entitled to that choice. I do not see why a person in some part of Clare should have any less range of service than a person living in Dún Laoghaire.
Would the Minister not agree that one of the reasons the second bidder for the independent television channel pulled out was that they were not convinced about the MMDS system on two counts: firstly, it was going to be too expensive for the consumer and therefore they were not going to purchase it and secondly it would not be viable as a system which operates on line of sight. That was one of the main reasons those people pulled out of the bidding for the second television channel.
The Deputy's question clearly illustrates the difference between his party's approach to life and our party's approach to life. They are negative in everything they look at. I looked at the remaining applicant who clearly indicated that he had total confidence in the MMDS system.
To hell with the cost.
One of the bidders is totally confident and the other is negative, and in the usual fashion Deputy Cullen takes the negative——
Question No. 34.
I wish to bring briefly to the Minister's attention——
This is Question Time, Deputy Cullen. I am calling No. 34 in the name of Deputy Brendan Griffin.