The Government will publish a 10-point action plan shortly to stimulate investment in the domestic telecoms industry, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke said yesterday.
The plan will lay out the Government's next steps in the telecommunications arena following a series of difficulties resulting from the downturn in the telecoms industry.
Earlier this month two telecoms companies - Eircom and Formus - pulled out of a state sponsored investment programme to lay broadband in the regions. In addition, NTL and Eircom recently pulled back from offering high speed Internet services and several telecoms companies have abandoned the process to unbundle the local loop.
In an interview with The Irish Times yesterday, Ms O'Rourke confirmed an inter-departmental review group would report shortly and an action plan would be published within a matter of weeks.
This is likely to address the issue of offering state subsidies to telecoms companies to lay infrastructure. It is understood officials are concerned this may not be the best way to promote investment.
Ms O'Rourke also addressed the thorny issue of unbundling the local loop following a meeting yesterday with the European telecoms commissioner, Mr Erkki Liikanen.
Ms O'Rourke said she had asked the telecoms regulator to prepare a report on the unbundling process amid concerns that Ireland is falling behind other European countries.
She said she was disappointed by the slow pace of unbundling as she believed it would bring benefits to the incumbent operator as well as competitors.
Despite a European Commission regulation mandating unbundling by January 1st this year, not a single line has been unbundled in the Republic.
A dispute over the proposed charges for using Eircom's local network is stalling the process. A final price is expected at the end of the month.
Ms O'Rourke also highlighted that several competing telecoms companies have withdrawn from the unbundling process. The regulator's report would focus on establishing the reasons for this, she added.
