Replies from TDs/Communications with TDs

kamobe · 05-05-2002 12:27pm #1

This was the first reply:

stephen

Thank you for your e mail.I am well aware of the costs associated with internet usage in this country.We use it a lot here both for my political work and the web site I set up and also both my husband and daughter use it a lot for their work and study.We have a dedicated phone line for this and the monthly bill is really exorbitant.

Its vexed question for the Dublin West area too as so many technological companies locate here and need low cost and high speed to do business properly.

I can assure you that it is an issue I would want to pursue energetically in the Dail.I heard some local US investors mention the importance to them of greater broadband capacity . It is important,too, for educational institutions and research staff to have access to this .

It is Labour's intention in Government to create a Department of Infrastructure to spearhead a wide range of modernising investments and broadband would obviously be one significant area.

I hope this is satisfactory to you. I would be glad to meet you, if I am elected ,to go over the details before I raise the matter in the Dail.

Regards

Joan Burton

sceptre · 05-05-2002 12:36pm

I'm just setting up this thread to pop any replies people may get from their TDs to mails they've sent to them on the issues of flat-rate access, broadband and so on.

Or any communications they've had with their TDs regarding the problems.

2 reasons:

if lots of people post, there will be quite a few almost empty threads
I for one am actually interested to hear what local TDs are saying in response to the issues being raised - if some appear genuinely more interested than others, it may be worth our while contacting them. So this thread can act as encouragement to people to post responses they have received

Just take note - misuse of this thread will not be tolerated. Generalised insults directed to one party without any substantiation will just be deleted - we have other places for that kind of thing.

I'll be moving any posts indicating replies from or communications with TDs in here.

Please post communications you've had with your representatives, guys/gals. Nothing may come of it, but then again, something may.

Arboration · 05-05-2002 1:47pm

Dear Mr.Sargent.

As you are no doubt aware if you are one of the millions of Irish people who use the Internet, we are for a lack of a better word: 'Being ripped off.' - This country continues to stand with a high-head and boast its central status of the E-Comerce Hub of the European Union. This is probably one of the most laughable statements in EU history.

We set down two problems:

› Eircom.
From Eircom themselves: "Why should we roll out a service which the Irish people don't WANT?" - I myself made a small survey in my local area, taking 50 people and asking them the following:

» If you had a PC & A means of connecting to the Internet. 39 of them said yes. 11 of them said no.
Yes: Because the Internet is a treasure trove of knowledge which can be accessed 24/7. *
* - They also said they would spend very short amounts of time on the Internet, as it was to costly.
No: Simply because they could not afford the Internet.

» If you had a PC and were able to purchase a Flat-Rate connection which was unmetered and offered 24/7 access for a fixed price, would you use it ?
50 / 50 of the people I asked said YES.

› The Government.
Government parties which have been running for the last few years have NEGLECTED the situation which Eircom placed upon the Irish people, and tended to more 'Pressing Matters' - (Personally, I can't seem to see why small Irish business's being ABLE to compete with their EU counterparts and helping our economy grow ISN'T a pressing matter. But who is to know whether this country is looking to fall flat on it's face ?) The result of this neglect will mean that within two years, if an electorate party is not aware of the situation Ireland will be considered an UNPROFITABLE competitor, and will fall out of the Technology race, because a narrow minded Telecommunications company will not desist in raping the Irish people of a much needed service.

Recently the 'Comms Bill' went before the Dail, each amendment was passed with the exception of one; The amendment which allowed the ODTR to impose Flat-Rate Internet access on ANY Telecommunications company, was ignored and was to be retaken when the EU brought in a Bill later in coming months.

The speaker did not realize that Ireland requires flate-rate affordable Internet access --NOW--
Not in 10 months when the Irish economy begins to feel the true blow of being Ignorant to the rest of the Internet.

» The Cure:

A new party in office which is not ignorant of our plea.
And Ireland Offline. ( http://www.IrelandOffline.org )
The situation is no longer a speck on Irelands uniform, it is a burn on our metaphoric shirt.

If this continues, the Irish People & It's Government will be the newest joke in the EU.

- Yours: Ross McDermott.
An Irish Internet user who no longer wishes to partake in this laughable situation.

How was that?

Tellox · 05-05-2002 2:15pm

pretty good...I hope you receive a reply

Delphi91 · 05-05-2002 5:02pm

Got this on Thursday from Jan O'Sullivan, Labour TD:

****************************************************
Dear Michael, Please forgive the delay in replying to your email. I just wanted to let you know in reply that our Labour Party Spokesperson, Brian O'Shea, proposed the amendment you referred to. With best wishes, Jan O'Sullivan T.D.
****************************************************

Mike

sceptre · 08-05-2002 10:42am

Got something similar from Jan O'Sullivan - quick note and a copy of Brian O'Shea's input into the debate.

That's only three replies so far for me from 9 TDs - two from Fine Gael, one from Labour.

Matfinn · 08-05-2002 12:28pm

Here is an email I sent to one of my local TD's.

->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

Dear Sirs

My name is Matthew Finucane and Im currently living in Sutton, in your constituencies, and I am emailing you re: this afternoons debate on the ammendment to the telecommunications bill 2001.
Here it is outlined below
=======================================
Section 12 A(8) The Commission may require an operator to provide other operators with bitstream services and flat-rate interconnection services and set prices for these services. The Commission may exercise this power at its own initiative, or at the request of an operator.
===================================

I would urge all of you please do not oppose this ammendment. It is of tanamount importance to all people in Ireland. For years we have had to pay high costs to go online, and this has deterred the general public when it comes to having internet access installed. The internet makes up a large part of our national well-being, as it is needed for one of our most important industries, computing and information technology.
Many small software development firms and indeed small businesses are at a massive competitive disadvantage in Ireland today, because they are not given the means with which to conduct their business in a fair manner. In the UK, for instance, a small company can connect to the internet and stay online, reading crucial emails from their clients and sending information and product catalogs online for a meagre STG£40 per month. The UK telecoms market has been liberated and competition is rife, and as a result there has a vast uptake amongst small businesses and indeed the general public of internet access. This gives other countries the competitive edge over Ireland.
In Ireland, the cost to stay online can cost upto ten times as much as it is in the UK, due to the fact that we have no flatrate internet access in this country.
We are hailed as the 'E-Hub' of Europe, and if our current situation does not change, we will become the laughing stock of Europe. Ireland needs flatrate internet access and fast. We need to have a competitive edge over other countries. We are good at what we do, but if we havent the means to carry out our work properly, we will quickly lose our competitive advantage.
As we all know, big business grows out of small business. We cannot be dependent on American and Japanese firms forever.

For more information, please visit www.irelandoffline.com .

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Matt Finucane

->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And here is the reply I got

->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dear Matt,

Thank you for your recent e-mail. This bill was brought through the Dail by the
Minister for Public Enterprise last week.

Yours sincerely,

Ald. Martin Brady, T.D.

->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Matt

TitanFire · 09-05-2002 4:44pm

Got this today from John Perry, TD in Sligo/Leitrim

thank you for your email, in relation to Internet Access in Ireland.
I will of course bring your concerns to the attention of my parliamentary
party colleagues in Fine Gael
If there are any other issues, which you would like to bring to my attention
please contact me anytime. your sincerely, John Perry TD

m1ke · 09-05-2002 4:48pm

i've handed out the leaflet to FF,SF,Labour so far and have gotten no replies

i've emailed all my candidates by email too

only got this reponse from 5 candidates

_________________________________

Just a note to acknowledge and thank you for your e mail.

I do my best to respond to any issue raised by constituents and I will continue
to do so.

I stand for election based on my work record not on election promises.

Regards,

TONY GREGORY T.D.

Arboration · 09-05-2002 5:51pm

I've yet to get a reply.

timod · 13-05-2002 12:58pm

Got this today...

The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms. Mary
Harney, has asked me to thank you for your recent e-mail concerning the
Communications Regulation Bill and, in particular, the issue of flat rate
Internet access.

The Tanaiste shares your view about the importance of flat rate Internet
access and, in particular, the requirement on the part of
telecommunications operators to make it available. It was one of the issues
discussed by this Department with the Department of Public Enterprise when
the Bill was being prepared and indeed during its passage through the
Oireachtas. While it did not prove possible to have it included in the
Bill, I understand that the issue will be re-examined by the Department of
Public Enterprise in the context of the transposition of the package of
five electronic communications EU Directives, four of which have already
been adopted. I also understand that there is no prohibition on flat rate
Internet access being offered at present although, as you point out, there
is no obligation on the part of telecommunications companies to provide it
either.

I am pleased to say that following discussions with the Department of
Public Enterprise, this Department secured a number of amendments to the
Bill. You may be aware that the Telecommunications Regulator reached
agreement with Eircom on the launch of new Internet products on 17th April,
the day the Bill passed all stages in the Dail. As part of the agreement,
Eircom intends to discontinue legal proceedings brought by the company
against the ODTR in relation to a number of issues.

We look forward to further progress in the roll out of Internet technology.
In that regard, this Department will be keeping in close touch with the
Department of Public Enterprise in relation to Internet access issues in
the context of the transposition of the five Directives, and indeed
generally.

Yours sincerely,

Bridget Flynn
Private Secretary

viking · 13-05-2002 1:15pm

While it did not prove possible to have it[flat-rate ammendment] included in the Bill...

Why? why, why, why.....???

Thats bullshít, explain why it was not possible to have it included? Why must we wait for adoption of the EU Directives?
Absolutely illogical, FFS!

Grrrrrrr....... I'm angry :mad:

viking

donaloconnor · 13-05-2002 8:20pm

I am fed up with lack of broadband access, just like all of you. I said I would write an email to the Taoiseach. Here is what i wrote:

" Dear Webmaster,

Can you please forward this important email to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.

Dear Taoiseach,

I am 16 years old and I am disgusted with the level of broadband access in Ireland. Our Country is falling away behind the other European Countries. I, myself had to go to the bother of saving €235 Euros to pay for a Satellite Service from Luxembourg.

A lot of money is being foolishly spent on things that a pure waste. Other countries offer high speed DSL for as little as 30 a month. I am paying about €30 a month for a dial up service to IOL No Limits. DSL is about 30 times faster than a normal dial up connection. My mother is giving out mad about how the phone line is taken up with the internet, I can’t help this but if I had DSL this would sort out this problem and I would have a much faster connection to the internet and life will be a lot more happier. I am even lucky to be still on my Dial Up Connection, IOL No Limits. Ireland Online couldn’t afford to pay for the leased line from Eircom, the 1332103001235 special number. When you connect with this number you get unmetered access, meaning that you are not charged by the month. This applies from 6pm – 8am and weekends only.

Eircom are totally ripping there costumers with the prices for DSL.

Prices from site:

“eircom i-stream solo

For a single user, on a single computer

The product has both a USB port or ethernet option
Speeds are up to 512kbps downstream/128kbps upstream
Connection fee is 165 excl. VAT - Monthly fee is 89 excl. VAT
Additional equipment required: ADSL USB modem 145 excl. VAT or ADSL ethernet modem 200 excl. VAT
For solo the monthly allowance is 3GB.** “

Now these prices are beyond. Who can afford this, the rich maybe but not the average user. A lot of people from other countries are using DSL and are happy with prices. €89 Euro is just too much to charge compared to other countries that charge only 20 – 30 Euro. E

The internet is a very important part of the future. The internet valuable too people and must not cost too much.

You might be interested going to http://www.irelandoffline.org . This site will support my point of view and will give you all the info you need.

Please, I even beg you to think about this. I can assure you if you plan to invest in telecommunications in Ireland there will be a big response, and I mean a big response. If people knew that Broadband in Ireland would become a lot more cheaper, people will certainly be influenced to vote.

Thank you so much for reading this email and would be grateful if you could do something about broadband in Ireland. It would make such a difference in the country.

Kind Regards,

Donal "

Here is the reply I got:
" Dear Mr. O'Connor,

The Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, has asked me to acknowledge receipt of
your recent e-mail which has been referred to the office of the Minister
for Public Enterprise, Mrs.Mary O'Rourke, for attention and direct reply to you.

Yours sincerely,

Nick Reddy
Assistant Private Secretary
to the Taoiseach "

I hope that Mary O' Rourke Will Reply Now.

Tell me what you think, Stupid or Good?

m1ke · 14-05-2002 1:14am

another reply i got

Dear Michael,

Many thanks for your e-mail recieved in my office today in relation to internet access in Ireland.

I wish to assure you I will do all I can to assist and when I have further news I will be in touch.

Best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Bertie Ahern
Taoiseach

kamobe · 14-05-2002 1:26am

Still waiting for further replies to my original mail......
Annoying - send out 5
one replies.....

dahamsta · 15-05-2002 11:43am

Just a wee update on fun and frolics at my front door in Cork South Central.

Deirdre Clune

As I said in another thread, Deirdre Clune followed up by email to my enquiries about comms. I don't want to quote verbatim from the email she sent, but basically she apologised for seeming offhand with me[1] and ostensibly took my comments on board. She also said that she will "take out"[2] Ivan Yates' eConfident Ireland document, as I recommended.

Unrelated, but of note, she also replied to my email about VAT on Charities, and committed to "fight this cause" when FG are in Government.

Brendan Ryan

I sent an email to Senator Brendan Ryan, a Labour candidate, asking him to make sure he calls on me while canvassing in my area. He didn't call, but he did reply by email to explain why not[3]. Brendan came across as lefty - which of course he is, so no surprise there - but very passionate about the subject. He noted, without any prompting[4]: the lazy and abusive nature of monopolies; that the standoffish attitude of the Regulator has failed; that deregulation of the local loop is not enough to correct the problems; that active intervention from the State is required; and that price regulation, direct investment and consumer advocacy would be the key enablers.

He also noted the difference between Ireland and Sweden, and explained that he believed that Sweden was successful because of market forces and state intervention. Somewhat comically, he referred to the Minister responsible in less than glowing terms, and also laid blame at the feet of the ODTR and the Department of Finance. Finally, he noted that he believes the Party's policies are similar to his own - of course they should have stated them more clearly in the manifesto - and that his views on the subject are shared by Deputy O'Shea, who we recently saw in the Dáil.

A couple of other things: I did a little research on Ryan before emailing him, and his name turned up most frequently in Senate debates, which he has been so passionate about on at least one occasion as to be thrown out of the Senate. I'm not sure how to view that, but I see it as important. And finally, when I responded to Senator Ryan I asked that he put aside some time to meet with me subsequent to the election. He replied just this morning to note that he hopes that when he meets with me he'll still be in a position to exert some influence. That made me laugh, which is always a help.

Simon Coveney

I have been in communication with Simon for some time, having met with him as a representative of IrelandOffline in September/October. My meeting with Simon somewhat biased me in his favour, for the simple reason that I like the guy -- he was pretty straight with me when I met him, and rather than hide behind politics, he explained the political intracacies of making IrelandOffline's cause worthy of attention. I find that all the more impressive when I realise that Simon probably thinks I'm a total nutjob, because of the somewhat ultimatum-like emails he's received from me. However, he's taken the time to reply to me, and like Tim (timod), he has agreed to meet with me subsequent to the election.

Simon tends to run hot and cold though, in my view. He seems to have replied to my emails only when forced to, either by the local Whip or because of the upcoming General Election. And critically, I don't appear to have a Coveney flier, although I'm not sure if that's because he hasn't canvassed my area, or perhaps he came to early for me to notice. Coveney is still high on my ballot card though, because I believe that he will respond to pressure, and you can bet your sweet bippy there'll be pressure coming from this loony left.

Kathy Sinnott

Kathy isn't campaigning directly on topics of interest to us, and to be honest I wasn't inclined to bring them up, because they seem to pale in comparison to the work that Kathy does. She seems to be a strong, powerful woman though, and I think she deserves a mention because I feel that, were she elected to the Dáil, and attention was drawn to our concerns, she would battle hard for us.

John Dennehy

John is the only Fianna Fáil candidate to appear here for the simple reason that he's the only one who made any effort. I had a five minute chat with his canvasser - his son - yesterday, and we had an interesting debate on Fianna Fáil's achievements in Government. I highlighted communications (of course) and also Fianna Fáil's reliance on Enterprise and their lack of support for small and indigenous business as a backup plan. He highlighted Intel's Fab24, I highlighted the others that left. He highlighted the fact that the others pretty much followed Intel's lead. (Which is a fair point, but still doesn't correct Ireland's reliance.) Again somewhat comically, the canvasser didn't have a pen, and wasn't able to note down my name, so I thought that was an end to it. Not so: this morning I received a letter from John Dennehy telling me that he will take the matter on board and will get back to me when he has a response.

That's all I have at the moment. Dan Boyle (Green) never appeared at my door, Micky Martin is nowhere to be seen, and they're just the ones I can remember. It's a somewhat odd campaign down here, Fianna Fáil doesn't seem to have made an effort at all, an example being the lack of eye-catching posters for anyone but Micky Martin. They seem to be relying on people settling for the status quo, which is all well and good until people realise that the status quo isn't all that it's cracked up to be. But will they? The cover of this week's Phoenix reflects this: Bertie is saying to McGreedy, "What's the odds on an overall majority?" and McGreedy replies, "Shhh... you'll spook the punters."

This apathy, this willingness to settle, worries me terribly. I don't deny that Fianna Fáil did a lot of work for this country, but I honestly believe that anyone who doesn't recognise that they have quite simply lost the plot, is taking a very blinkered view of the world around them. It worries me even more when the pundits seem to think that Fianna Fáil will get an overall majority. Of course, it can't be denied that the PD's have done little or nothing to try and control Fianna Fáil, but will they be any better in Opposition? Will the Opposition parties come together, or will they bicker between themselves while Fianna Fáil push through flawed and damaging legislation while they're not looking?

Obviously I'm not going to get what I want this election, and obviously I'll work with whoever is in power, and whoever is sitting in my seats. It's odd though, that I have no idea who will be in those seats next week, beyond Martin and Coveney.

This has been a party political broadcast on behalf of Dahamsta Party.

adam

[1] Which implies that someone from FG has been lurking here; which is something to remember when you're drafting your posts folks.
[2] I can only hope that she didn't mean that in the Al Pacino way.
[3] It was raining. One would have thought that getting a seat in the Dáil would be more important than getting a bit wet, however I suppose I should take it at face value.
[4] I think it's important to higlight this: He made all of these comments with no prompting from me whatsoever.

Lemming · 15-05-2002 4:07pm

I had dealings with political canvassers for 3 parties (Labour, FF, FG) yesterday (Tues 14th May) in and around my area on the streets. Here's my impression:

Labour:

Eithne FitzGerald
I had a VERY long discussion with her some weeks previous, and she seemed to identify with the situation regarding home users and internet connections having used it herself at home a lot, and then using it in the likes of Trinity College.

She listened to what I had to say, and at least gave the appearance of being interested in what I had to say.

I followed her up on that conversation yesterday, and she had looked into it further and said she'd send out some documentation on it to me shortly (she was canvassing houses at the time, so fairs fair I suppose).

Fianna Fail:

Tom Kitt
If ever I have seen a politician not want to even listen, this was the occasion. As soon as he heard the words "Ireland Offline", "Broadband", "FF", "what are your thoughts and policies?" he bolted across the road to someone else, whilst directing an associate to talk to me.

He wont be getting so much as a filthy look from me yet alone a vote. His words were "I'm too busy" and then he said he'd love to talk to me, but wont be able to until after the election.

And I'm one of his electorate?!!!!!

"Hi, we're FF. We're a faceless corporation. Vote for us. Bye"

Fianna Gael:

Alan Shatter
Whilst I didn't get to the man himself (since he wasn't in my estate at the time), the guy I collared looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. In fairness, he listened, and admitted that he was quite IT-illiterate. ANother guy came over, and strauight away knew something of the issues surroundnig the telecomms industry.

Whilst he didnt' know Alan Shatters point of view on this exactly, it left a decent impression on me. These were just joe-blogg canvassers for candidate X, and seemed to know something of current politics.

dahamsta · 15-05-2002 4:43pm

I think the way we, as members of IrelandOffline, should be thinking is pretty much: Screw who gets in, get the boot in now and critically, /keep/ the boot in. In other words, when the election is over, follow up on it. Keep the pressure on. Keep emailing, writing and talking to the politicos until we get questions asked and answered (satisfactorily) in the Dáil, and legislation drafted.

In the last few months - the last few weeks in particular - IrelandOffline has demonstrated that it can act both as activist and politician. We can take hundreds of websites down with the click of our fingers, we can get meetings with the people that matter; not just because we can shout, but because we have something important to say, something worth listening to. We have to keep that up, and build on it.

I have every confidence in IrelandOffline and it's members to push flat-rate on Government - any Government - in the coming weeks and months. But it's important that we don't get dejected by results we don't like in the election, it's important that we keep the pressure on and try to build a bigger following.

Say "Hell yeah!"

adam

Delphi91 · 15-05-2002 5:43pm

Originally posted by dahamsta
Just a wee update on fun and frolics at my front door in Cork South Central.

Deirdre Clune

...Unrelated, but of note, she also replied to my email about VAT on Charities, and committed to "fight this cause" when FG are in Government.

Actually, I was quite surprised at the response I got to the charity e-mail. I got two personal letters (one from Michael Noonan) and an e-mail - just got one e-mail arising out of the Comm Bill ammendment.

Maybe it's something worth considering as a means of getting our message to the incoming Government and TDs?. People could send a suitably worded e-mail to their local representatives. I'm sure many people have already sent e-mails to their candidates, but if LOTS of people sent them, it might make more of an impression?

Just a thought.

Mike

Dangger · 18-05-2002 1:34pm

I've added a new "Politician" topic on the article panel of the www.irelandoffline.org site in an effort to record the replies from politicians.

Dahamsta do you have mails you can provide to me reagarding you comments. I would prefer to have the actual replies up there.

dahamsta · 18-05-2002 1:57pm

I'd prefer not to provide the emails without permission, as I was discussing unrelated policies and general stuff with most politicians. I'll email them to ask, but I won't be expecting to hear back from them for a few days (obviously).

Delphi, I was thinking along those lines when I posted a comment about the VAT Campaign recently. We have the webmasters, the database and the supporters, it's just a case of pulling it all together. Considering the election though, I think it might be better postponed until after the AGM.

adam

kamobe · 21-05-2002 9:09pm

Fortunately Joan was elected,
However I'll be leaving the country for a while

If anyone would like to follow up on my behalf, please let me know....
And when i mail her again, I'll pass on yer addy.

My first general election vote, will be interesting to see if she actually follows up!!

topgold · 22-05-2002 1:56pm

I hit Labour, SF and FF canvassers in Kilkenny with these issues on the run-up to the general election and they normally told me how they were working to remove the burnt-out car in the neighbouring field.

I guess communications infrastructure and agricultural lands are related in Kilkenny because the doorstep topic changed whenever I mentioned flat rate access or broadband provisions.

Replies from TDs/Communications with TDs

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