Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1996 > Committee of Public Accounts > Report No. 01 - Value for money examinations

APPENDIX 5

Mr P Mullarkey

Secretary

Department of Finance

Government Buildings

Merrion Street

Dublin 2

29 March 1996

RE: VFM Report - Management of Telephone facilities in the Civil Service

Dear Mr Mullarkey

I am directed by the Chairman, Mr Denis Foley, T.D., to refer to the recent meeting of the Committee at which the above report was considered.

During that meeting you undertook to provide a note for the Committee in relation to the consideration that has been given to the question of bulk discounts on traffic on the public service telecommunications network.

The Committee would be grateful if this note could be provided before 18 April 1996..

Yours sincerely

Clíona O Rourke

Clerk to the Committee

16 April 1996

Ms. Clíona O’Rourke

Clerk to the Committee of Public Accounts

Leinster House

Dublin 2

Dear Ms. O’Rourke,

In response to your letter of 29 March 1996, I enclose a note concerning bulk discounts for traffic on the public telephone network.

Please contact me if you require further clarification in this regard.

Yours sincerely,

P. H. Mullarkey

Secretary

Bulk discount for Civil Service traffic

In common with other telecommunications providers worldwide, Telecom Éireann (TE) offers two types of voice and data services - core services and value added services. Most of the telephone facilities availed of by the Civil Service use only core services offered by TE’s basic public telephone service. By law, TE are not allowed to offer volume discounts on core services, which must be offered at a common price to all its customers, regardless of their size or location. Discounts can be offered only for services where TE has added value to the core service.

Virtual Private Networking (VPN) which TE plan to introduce in June 1996 is a value added service and substantial discounts will be offered for volume customers of this service. The interdepartmental VPN Study which is nearing completion has been examining the potential of VPN to further reduce telecommunications costs both in the Civil Service and in the wider noncommercial Public Service.

16 April 1996