Roaming charges faced by Republic and Northern Ireland mobile telephone users when they cross the Border could disappear shortly, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.
He told the Dublin Chamber of Commerce last night that regulator ComReg and its Northern counterpart, Ofcom, were due to report to both governments by the end of March. "We need to solve the problem of roaming charges, where people on both sides of the Border are charged for international calls - often incorrectly," he said.
"This issue needs to be sorted out and I hope we will hear in the near future that it has been resolved. We want an all-island economy that benefits everybody.
"Both governments are following up these issues with the regulators and mobile phone operators. The regulators are due to report back to Ministers at the end of March," he said.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain said the North's political parties, including the Democratic Unionist Party, accepted that the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly must be put back into action. Following Wednesday's publication of the latest IMC report, talks begin next week involving the parties, Mr Hain, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.
"The fact that the DUP has put forward proposals means they recognise that status quo is not an option," he said in Dublin yesterday during a one-day visit.
Describing 2006 as "a make-or-break year", Mr Hain again warned that he would cut salaries and expenses to members of the suspended Assembly, worth £85,000 (€70,254) a year, unless progress is made this year.He added that it would not be possible to hold scheduled Assembly elections in 2007: "No serious politicians I have spoken to has disagreed with that," he said. "Most people in Northern Ireland re tired of politics because it doesn't exist, because it is all about party fighting and squabbling. But I am saying there is a appetite for moving forward."
He added: "All parties have put forward interesting proposals. I am not saying that Ian Paisley and the DUP are galloping into government tomorrow. But I do think that Ian Paisley and the DUP want the assembly up and running. The argument will be where power sharing fits into all of that."
"The proposals we have are for different models of the Assembly preceding the power-sharing executive. The argument will be where the trigger lies," said Mr Hain.
