I welcome the opportunity to raise this important and timely matter on the Adjournment this evening. Scientific research, which came into the public domain this week, casts a serious question mark over the health risks posed by mobile telephones. I do not want to exaggerate the risks. However, it is now fair to say that the jury is out regarding the possible health risks of mobile telephones.
This new evidence demands a response from the Government, the telecommunications industry and the office of the Director of Tele communications Regulation. The safety of Irish consumers must be of paramount importance.
We are entering a new phase in telecommunications with the advent of the liberalised market. The liberalised market is not a free for all, it is regulated. Companies who are granted licences are expected to operate to certain standards which protect the Irish mobile telephone users, who number almost 1 million, from possible health risks.
In this respect the Government has a key role. It should lay down the public policy priorities under which the Director of Telecommunications Regulation shall perform her important functions. However, after seeing the Minister for State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with responsibility for science and technology, Deputy Treacy, on "Questions and Answers" last night, it is clear that the Government will bury its head in the sand on this important public health issue. I was genuinely taken aback at the grossly complacent attitude of Deputy Treacy. Perhaps the Minister is too busy glad-handing voters from Glenties to Glenamaddy to comprehend the seriousness of the issues before him. The Minister's position, that the Government will do nothing until conclusive, incontrovertible proof is available, is a shocking dereliction of duty.
The incontrovertible proof on which the Minister claims he is waiting is proving elusive. It could well take a decade before proof of this nature is available. In the meantime the Government should take action to minimise the risk that mobile telephones may cause. If it does not do so then thousands of people may contract serious illnesses in the meantime.
There is now a serious question mark over the safety of mobile telephones. The Government should insist that the telecommunications industry faces up to its responsibilities and ensures that any possible risks to consumers are minimised.
Three steps should be taken immediately. All mobile telephone users should be offered a hands-free set paid for by the mobile telephone industry. All new mobile telephones should be sold with a hands-free set. All mobile telephone users should be issued with a health and safety guide, which is compiled by a panel of independent experts and distributed by the phone companies. These steps will reassure the public, maintain public confidence in mobile telecommunications and show that the Government is concerned by the recent research.
The telecommunications industry, not the consumer, should foot the bill for these initiatives. For example, hands-free sets are strongly recommended by scientists who study mobile telephone radiation. However, if I walked into a high street shop tomorrow to purchase such a set, I would be lucky to get one for £40. In that transaction I would pay a substantial mark-up to the manufacturer, the distributor and the retailer. This could be curtailed if the telephone companies were required to provide these sets.
We cannot stand idly by while a possible risk to the health of people exists. We must move to ensure that the preventative measures which reduce the possible risks from mobile telephones are instituted while we await comprehensive scientific results. The complacent attitude displayed by the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with responsibility for science and technology, Deputy Treacy, is not good enough and I urge the Minister for Public Enterprise, Deputy O'Rourke, to take the matter into her own hands and ensure that action is taken.
