THE telecommunications industry has finally got a regulator to monitor the sector, which is undergoing significant changes as the market becomes more liberalised. The appointment was heralded as a "watershed" in telecommunications policy in Ireland by the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Dukes, last night.

The appointee is Ms Etain Doyle, who will occupy the post to be known as director of telecommunications regulation. She will take over the regulatory functions of Mr Dukes and will head a new independent office.

Ms Doyle, who was described as "very bright" by former associates last night, takes on the new role following a period as a consultant with ESB International, the successful commercial arm of the ESB.

A native of Dublin, Ms Doyle began her career as an administrative officer in the Department of Fiance. She has also worked in the Department of Foreign Affairs, the European Parliament, the Graduate School of Business at UCD and the European Commission in Moscow.

Ms Doyle will head a team of 50 people. The regulator's office was established last year and the post is understood to attract a salary in excess of £70,000 a year.

The office aims to ensure that regulation of the telecommunications sector should be transparent, objective and independent from the Minister for Communication's role as the majority shareholder in Telecom Eireann.

It is an EU-driven policy and most European countries now have telecommunications regulators.

All regulatory functions will be transferred by June 30th. "The new director will be functionally and legally independent," Mr Dukes said.

The office will be self-financing, but will be accountable to the Oireachtas through annual reporting via the Minister.