I welcome the deletion of the words "public order", particularly as there is a very wide interpretation in that regard. The Minister of State has addressed my concern because what is proposed will be confined to the issue of national security. That is an appropriately high bar. In that context, I am happy not to press my amendment.

I move amendment No. 35: In page 24, line 33, after “Minister” to insert “reasonably”. This amendment again seeks to put an extra requirement on the Minister to require a relevant provider or vendor to treat as confidential the existence of the contents of the measure, in circumstances where the Minister considers the disclosure of the measures imposed by the notice would be contrary to the interests of national security or public order. The Minister of State will be aware that in that same section we both now have…

I do not know if all decisions of all Ministers can claim to have implicit reasonableness in everything they do. We are moving towards a dangerous papal-infallibility-style approach if we believe that. Nonetheless, in acknowledgement of the fact that the Government has narrowed the scope in which this discretion may be applied to only issues of national security, I am not going to press the amendment.

I move amendment No. 38: In page 25, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “(3) A requirement for confidentiality made under subsection (1) may apply for a period of up to 36 months. (4) Following the expiry of a confidentiality period under subsection (3) , a requirement for confidentiality under subsection (1) may be renewed where the Minister reasonably considers that disclosure of the measures would still be contrary to the interests of national security and public safety.”. This again relates to the …

With respect, the fact the Minister may revoke is not the same and, indeed, the ComReg report saying who has been sanctioned is not the same as saying what the measures are and how they are applying. Even if the Minister has access to that ComReg report, which would bluntly say who has been subject to the measures, the issue of legislative or parliamentary scrutiny is not really addressed. How does an order come to be revoked? Is it a spontaneous thought from the Minister? The parties affected by the order are not …

I move amendment No. 46: In page 28, line 16, to delete “shall” where it firstly occurs and substitute “may”.

I move amendment No. 52: In page 29, line 37, after “Part,” to insert “including a review of any regulations made under this Part, in consultation with the Commission and the relevant committee,”. Amendment No. 52 seeks to impose a requirement on the Minister such that, when conducting a review of the part of the Bill relating to high-risk or relevant vendors, he or she would also review any regulations he or she has made under this Part and that this would be done in consultation with the commission and the releva…

I move amendment No. 53: In page 29, after line 40, to insert the following: “(2) The report under subsection (1) shall include information on the number of confidentiality orders issued under section 26 , the number of High Court cases taken under section 17 , and the number of appeals denied under section 18 , and shall include an assessment of any regulations made under this Part. (3) The report under subsection (1) shall be shared with both Houses of the Oireachtas and the relevant committee.”.

I move amendment No. 54: In page 30, line 33, to delete “may” and substitute “shall”. With amendment No. 54, we are into a different topic and a different set of issues. We are out of the area of risks to national security although we are still discussing dangers to the public, especially the risks they face in their engagements with different operators. Amendment No. 54 is simple. It requires that the commission "shall" specify minimum quality-of-service standards rather than that it "may". Many other provisions o…

I thank the Minister of State for accepting amendment No. 60. It is important it will send a signal about the seriousness with which the customer charter should be treated. I still have concerns. I appreciate the Minister of State's point on there being a balance with regard to the discretion of ComReg. It identifies the areas. There is also the fact that, ultimately, one of the things ComReg will do is respond to areas indicated in legislation. There is a reason there are provisions with regard to disability acces…

I move amendment No. 55: In page 31, line 1, after "channels," to insert "and the need to provide offline, telephone and in-person channels,".

I move amendment No. 56: In page 31, line 7, after "channels," to insert "and the need to provide offline, telephone and in-person channels,".

I move amendment No. 57: In page 31, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following: "(f) adherence to contractual commitments, including— (i) instances where a provider changes the terms of a contract during the contract period, or (ii) instances where a provider increases their pricing during a contract period;".

I move amendment No. 58: In page 32, line 3, to delete “may” and substitute “shall”.

I move amendment No. 59: In page 32, line 7, to delete “may” and substitute “shall”.

I move amendment No. 60: In page 32, line 20, to delete “may” and substitute “shall”.

I move amendment No. 61: In page 33, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: “(10) Where a provider prepares a compensation scheme it shall ensure that end-users are informed, in a clear and comprehensible way, that the compensation scheme does not prejudice their right to pursue compensation in respect of a specified failure by other legal means or proceedings.”. This amendment creates a specific positive duty on a provider publishing a compensation scheme to inform the consumer that this compensation sc…

I move amendment No. 62: In page 35, line 27, after “non-discriminatory” to insert “, and which must be accessible through offline as well as online channels, including by telephone or in-person”. Amendment No. 62 relates to section 41, which requires that providers have in place procedures for dealing with complaints that are fair, accessible and prompt. This section is a regulatory provision and it is subject to the powers of enforcement which come later in the legislation. It is again a positive provision but be…

We have had this discussion previously. I think there is a balance between the discretion of ComReg in this regard and our obligations as legislators to ensure that the key provisions regarding access in legislation we put forward are effective. If there is, therefore, a concern, and in this case a significant one, that 40% of the population may have difficulty in accessing certain forms of access, then it behoves us to ensure legislatively that these provisions in the Bill are effective and that where we delegate …

I thank the Minister of State.