Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
169. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Climate Action and Communication Networks if measures have been considered to encourage phone network providers to waive data roaming costs for Irish persons who were stranded in mainland Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic with no safe way to return home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23292/20]
View answerEU "Roam Like at Home" (RLAH) came into effect on 15 June 2017 and provides Irish and EU consumers with the ability to use their mobile devices, within other EU countries, at domestic rates, subject to Fair Use Policy. The RLAH regulation covers data services, voice and SMS.
ComReg (http://www.comreg.ie ), the independent telecoms regulator, is responsible for ensuring that all providers meet relevant obligations in areas such as roaming alerts. ComReg also has information for customers in relation to roaming on their website (https://www.comreg.ie/consumer-information/roaming), including tips on how to avoid inadvertent roaming.
As ComReg are statutorily independent in the exercise of its functions, I have no authority to intervene in those functions.
As the Deputy may be aware, on 15th of April 2020 all major telecommunications providers committed to a number of measures to help people stay in touch and work from home during Covid 19. Included in these commitments, service providers agreed that they would engage with any customer that contacted them who was in financial difficulty as a result of Covid-19 and had difficulty paying their bills to agree the best way of keeping them connected to voice and data. It is my understanding that telecommunications operators encouraged customers to contact them if they were experiencing any particular difficulties and each customer was dealt with on a case by case basis.
