An inevitable future?

El_MUERkO

Will the Irish government eventually buy Eircom to regain control of the telecom infrastructure in Ireland? I can see this happening; it would make the owners of Eircom very wealthy. I can see no other reason for running a company so badly, if it does happen I wouldn’t be surprised if twenty years down the line we an Eircon Tribunal

dahamsta

Will the Irish government eventually buy Eircom to regain control of the telecom infrastructure in Ireland?

Depends on your definition of "eventually", but no, I don't think so. It's not financially viable. Legislation is the answer.

I can see this happening; it would make the owners of Eircom very wealthy.

You mean "more wealthy" obviously. Eircom executives are very highly paid, thank you. In fact our lord and master Ray MacSherry, conveniently in charge of the Renumeration Committee, has helped push through fat bonuses for the dear execs every year, even in light of the pathetic share price (which is even more pathetic in light of Eircom's monopoly status in certain sectors).

And of course the public owners of Eircom will be owners no more, and Tony "Atlantic Resources" O'Really will be our new lord and master. And of course that's his prime objective, because he hasn't actually got any money to *spend* on Eircom when he gets his greedy little paws on it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if twenty years down the line we an Eircon Tribunal

Neither would I. In fact, I look forward to it. I'll be taking regular trips up to Dublin to attend. I'd prefer if it was a proper criminal investigation though. You know, fraud, price fixing, bribery, corruption? Yum!

adam

b20uvkft6m5xwg

The main barrier as I would see it is the various legislative constraints imposed on governments regarding the control of infrastrucutre such as telecommunciations networks. There are very strict competition and international legislation- now incorporated w/ the WTO that would prevent the govt. just writing a big check and buying it back- however much I'd like to see them do that.

BTW...
There are loopholes of course- mainly based on need and how essential the asset is. Other countries seem to be quiet blasé about the rules anyway-like France who see it as a prerequistite to break almost every EU directive sent down:)

If I was a Doctor and I was telling a patient what their chance of living is (as compared to the Govt. re-buying eircon) I'd say...

5-10%

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Originally posted by El_MUERkO
I wouldn’t be surprised if twenty years down the line we an Eircon Tribunal

Book your seats in Dublin Castle now
(the public gallery is very small)