Vol. 569 No. 5
85 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the preparations under way for Ireland to transpose the telecom package recently agreed by the European Union; the timetable envisaged; if she will consult with disability organisations regarding its implementation here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18201/03]
My Department is currently in the advanced stages of the process of transposing the EU electronic communications regulatory package into Irish law. It is hoped to complete this process on or before the implementation deadline of 25 July 2003.
My Department held a public consultation on draft regulations to implement the directives in December and January last and I propose to publish my consultation report shortly. The draft regulations include provisions to ensure equal access by disabled users to electronic communications services. The Commission for Communications Regulation has recently completed a consultation on the implementation details of the universal service provisions of the regulatory package, including the provision of services to disabled users. That report is available on the commission's website.
