Vol. 489 No. 6
222 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if her attention has been drawn to Italy's plans to radically clean up electromagnetic pollution, particularly in relation to mobile phones; and if she will comment on the implications, if any, this has for Ireland's standards. [9353/98]
Prior to July 1997 in Italy there were effectively no restrictions on radio and television broadcasting, on who could broadcast, or on what was broadcast. As no fewer than 56,000 stations vied for audiences the need for some regulation of the sector was apparent.
In July 1997 the Italian Government set up a national agency to regulate the telecommunications industry and in particular to assign frequencies and licences to legitimate broadcasters and to the mobile telecommunications companies.
Also in 1997, the Italian Government instructed the Minister for Environment to prepare a decree which would set limits for public exposure to radiofrequency emissions in the frequency range 100 kHz to 300 GHz.
I understand that the present position concerning this decree is that two pieces of legislation are in preparation. A framework regulation is being proposed by government which states the need for controlling radiofrequency emissions and allocates duties and responsibilities for this control among central and regional governments.
The second piece of legislation is the decree which sets the actual public exposure limits. These limits are still under discussion but present indications are that they will be broadly in line with the latest recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection that were published earlier this month. These are the guidelines already being followed in Ireland.
Given the foregoing, I am satisfied that the standards applied in Ireland are in line with best international practice and that no review of these standards in the terms envisaged by the Deputy is necessary.
