Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have one or two questions. I apologise for just arriving but if the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland had some insight on bi-location, it might help a few of us. I was pleased to receive a copy of the presentation. It might be helpful to get an overview of the radio stations represented, which are national, regional and local. Will the witnesses indicate who owns the stations? In many cases, the stations may not be independent, as UTV owns certain stations. Some background on the broadcasting landscape in Ireland for local stations might be helpful.

I apologise if the question has already been asked but the easiest definition of public service broadcasting might be anything that does not make money. Some radio stations perform some elements of public broadcasting extremely well; for example, many rural stations broadcast agricultural programmes. We travel around the country, tuning into different local radio stations, and one can nearly replicate different programmes. It is the same news and information but a different presenter on a different station. Is there a way of networking or franchising in order to consolidate the work? I am not just talking about agricultural programmes but also classical music, motorsport or niche interests that people do not hear of from a national broadcaster. It can be difficult to get it from local and regional stations. If that could be done, an element of the broadcasting charge could be set aside.

I do not want to go around the country listening to obituaries or easy listening for 23 hours of the 24 hours in a day. Local independent and regional stations must show that they are prepared to up their game. The witnesses have spoken about the challenges faced by local radio stations. I have mentioned obituaries and I will not focus on them but many people buy the local paper and go immediately to the back pages. People on the local radio station would spend 20 minutes reading those out. It is a matter for the station as to whether it is a public service. The same logic applies to reading out mart prices that are already available in the print media. The fundamental point is the competition is not just between the radio station and the broadcaster, as there is also competition between the print media and the local radio station. That does not help either party, and if a broadcasting charge is to go to local stations, they should up their game a bit.