The Minister for Communications, Mr Dempsey, is set to appoint a senior IBEC adviser as his new programme manager, it has emerged, reports Emmet Oliver

Ms Tanya Harrington will have a role in advising the Minister on a range of areas, including energy policy and broadband roll-out.

A formal announcement of Ms Harrington's appointment has yet to be issued, but a spokeswoman confirmed Ms Harrington had been asked to fill the role. Ms Harrington is currently head of energy policy with the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC). In that role, she has responsibility for presenting the views of industry to Government.

Previously, she worked as a policy analyst with the Institute of European Affairs and with the European Commission.

Ms Harrington's arrival at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, comes at an interesting time. Earlier this week, Mr Dempsey announced he was setting up a review of the energy sector. He wants consultants to carry out an in-depth review of the sector, and the future of the ESB will be part of this process.

Any attempts to break up the company or privatise certain assets are likely to be met with fierce union opposition.

Mr Dempsey has ruled out privatising the electricity network, but has refused to rule out selling off or leasing out certain power stations.

On broadband, the Government is struggling to meet a target of connecting 500,000 homes and businesses to broadband by 2006.

Mr Dempsey has identified this area as a key priority for his Department.

Ms Harrington, during her time at IBEC, has drawn attention to the regulatory uncertainty and legislative delay prevalent in the energy sector. She has also championed greater liberalisation of the sector.

In one speech she said: "Regulatory uncertainty and continuous legislative delay are significant for industry as they contribute to market uncertainty and make for a difficult project-financing climate."

She has also highlighted the rising cost of energy in the Republic.

At IBEC's energy advisory forum in 2002 she told delegates: "Industry has suffered dramatic increases in energy costs over the last two years."

She said the increases were an "unsustainable burden on Irish companies".

The issue of price rises is likely to continue in the months ahead, with little sign that oil prices are going to fall.