I want to raise with the Government the need to include in the terms of reference of the telephone users advisory group a provision to enable it to investigate and report on the discrimination that exists in that Dublin city, county and adjacent areas all are being classified as one local telephone call area while Cork city and county are not similarly classified.
There is a great sense of grievance in many parts of County Cork because the city and county are not classified as one local telephone call area. As many Members know, the local code for Cork city is 021, covering not just the city but towns nearby such as Kinsale, Midleton, Fermoy, Mitchelstown and Mallow. Outside those towns, trunk calls, at a greater cost, are necessary if one is calling Cork city.
The real sense of grievance arises because Dublin is treated differently. In the local Dublin 01 call area there is Dublin city, county and, indeed, parts of counties Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. The view in Cork is that what applies to Dublin should apply to Cork. The city of Cork is the focal point for business and commerce for the people of the city and county. It is altogether unfair that those living in large parts of the county are not able to make contact on a local call charge basis if they want to do business in Cork city. I raised this issue with Telecom Éireann but I got no great saisfaction. The first response I received was:
Your comments in relation to discrimination of Cork city and county vis-à-vis Dublin city and county have been noted. However, I feel it is not a true comparison.
I was not satisfied with the reply and I pressed the issue further. I received a further response from Telecom Éireann which states:
The fact that the Dublin area is regarded as one local call area is due solely to the configuration of the telephone network which has fewer and larger exchange areas in Cork.
I did not regard this explanation as satisfactory. In fact these replies amount to the type of gobbledygook one can expect from a monopoly. I do not expect those responses. I have good relations in most instances with Telecom Éireann but it is a monopoly. A monopoly has a special duty to exercise its functions fairly and without discrimination. There is an even greater onus on a Government to ensure that a State monopoly does that. That is why I believe the Minister should intervene in this situation and he has the power and the authority to do so. What is needed is the inclination and the political will for the Minister to intervene in what is a blatant case of discrimination.
I am raising this matter in the context of the establishment of the Telephone Users Advisory Group for two reasons. First, I tried to raise it previously and I found, with the usual wall of protection which Ministers build around themselves nowadays, that the question was rejected as having nothing to do with the Minister, that it was a matter for Telecom Éireann. Raising the question of the terms of reference of the Telephone Users Advisory Group is a device that enables me to get the matter on to the floor of the Dáil. Second, there is the question of the establishment of this group. It is an appropriate time to raise the question of the terms of reference of that group. If the Minister is not prepared to intervene directly he is in a position to include, as one of the terms of reference of the Telephone Users Advisory Group, a provision to enable it to investigate and report on the discrimination which I have outlined and, indeed, any other instances of discrimination which telephone users in different parts of the country feel should be investigated. It is appropriate and timely to raise the matter here now.
Finally, one way or the other people of Cork county have had enough. We have been paying over the odds for telephone calls for far too long and we now demand the same treatment, in relation in telephone charges, as is available in Dublin.
