DENIS O'Brien of Esat was in his usual straight-talking form at this week's Chartered Institute of Management Accountants' lunch. In a strong attack on "the old enemy" - Telecom Eireann - he hit out at the Government's protection of Telecom's monopoly position in the market. The justification given, he said, was the provision of a nationwide, affordable, basic service. "It's what I like to call the `Phonebox in Ballymagash' argument - one much-favoured by the Doheny & Nesbitt school of economics," he said.

O'Brien went on to say that, historically, the provision of telephones was regarded as an executive function". No wonder Ministers had Mercedes, he said - they needed them to load all the phones in the boot as they headed down to their constituencies at the weekend!