Vol. 406 No. 7
65 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if he will outline the investigation he carried out of the costs of provision of service by Cablelink when he approved the recent increases in their fees; the way these charges compare with charges for similar services in other European countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The recent increase in cable television charges was approved in order to allow cable companies recoup the costs of an agreement on charges between the cable operators and holders of copyright in the programmes relayed.
The cost of the copyright payments had not been taken into account by my Department when authorising price levels for cable before as, until the conclusion of the agreement, with one exception, no copyright payments had been made.
I do not have extensive information on the cost of cable service in other European countries. It is not particularly relevant to consideration of pricing here. I do know that in London, for example, one could pay anything from £10 to £14.50 per month for basic service with extra charges for second and third TV sets and extra channels. This compares with £6.80 per month in Dublin.
