Dublin's Catholic archdiocese has expressed concern at "wide discrepancies" in costs being quoted to update local church broadcast systems.
It follows the launch last month by ComReg, the Commission for Communications Regulation, of a wireless public address System licensing scheme.
This will allow community and religious organisations throughout the country to transmit events and religious services for the benefit of local people, particularly those who are confined due to illness or age.
In a statement yesterday, Annette O'Donnell, director of communications for the Dublin archdiocese, said: "This office is concerned that there are wide discrepancies in the range of services and especially costs, that parishes are being quoted to update church broadcast systems.
"In many cases it may be a simple matter of returning the existing system to the now legally permissible band. Those systems that need updating or replacing should not cost several thousand euros to do so."
Ms O'Donnell advised interested parties of a forthcoming workshop being organised by ComReg to address issues surrounding the licensing of community and church broadcast systems.
It will take place at Dublin's Westbury Hotel off Grafton Street on July 26th from 11am until 2pm and is open to all.
Those interested in attending the workshop should contact Sinéad Devey (sinead.devey @ComReg.ie - telephone (01) 804 9621) by next Wednesday, July 19th.
"I would urge parishes to send a representative," Ms O'Donnell said in her statement.
"The workshop will afford parishes an opportunity to familiarise themselves with what needs to be done and to get details from a number of suppliers to allow people to shop around."
It has emerged that, for example, one Catholic parish in Dublin got a quote from a company for €6,000 to install a new system which it was reputably estimated should cost in the region of €1,000 to €1,500 at most.
That, it is understood, was not an isolated example of attempted rip-offs involved.
Church sources have expressed outrage at what they see as rogue suppliers and indeed some well-established companies trying to cash in on the new ComReg licensing situation at the expense of parishes, but in particular at the expense of the ill and housebound for whom this is a much-desired service.
