Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Once the consultation in concluded in May, my Department and Coimisiún na Mean will work to get the schemes operational and to the market as early as possible. Since taking office in 2020, I have secured an additional €28.4 million in Exchequer funding for Sound and Vision. The Deputy is probably aware that WLR FM received almost €300,000 in the period 2020 to 2023 to support a range of different programming. This included programming celebrating the 30th anniversary of Fleadh Mór Tramore, "Waterford in Action - A Climate Discussion" and "Gaeilge sa Ghalltacht", a series focused on the Irish language in Waterford and the lives of those who speak it. Last week, funding of €7.9 million for 27 television and 38 radio projects was announced, as well as €706,000 to support community broadcasters. This included €1 million of the additional Exchequer funding provided to Coimisiún na Mean. An coimisiún has also recently opened a further round for applications. Again, additional Exchequer funding has been provided. I intend to allocate €7.4 million to this next round, including €2 million provided by the Government. I encourage all producers and broadcasters to consider submitting applications.

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