Vol. 466 No. 1
27 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications in regard to the issue of GSM licences in other EU states, if, in Austria and Belgium, full disclosure of the evaluation process was given and in Spain a bidders conference was held; his views on whether similar arrangements for open disclosure should have been made in relation to the granting of Ireland's GSM licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10868/96]
I have no formal knowledge of the level of disclosure of the evaluation process for the award of GSM licences in Austria, Belgium and Spain. I am advised that there is a long list of countries where no disclosure took place.
I understand that a constitutional obligation exists in Austria for the provision of information as to the basis for all public decisions.
In all the three cases mentioned the licence fee or auction element played a far more significant role than in our case. This obviously makes the result more clearcut.
I have spoken here several times about the constraints of confidentiality of information. It is not in my interest to hide anything that can be disclosed.
