Mr. Ciaran Moore:

Community broadcasters are licensed so we have gone through a process to be licensed with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

As a community broadcaster, under section 72 we must represent our community and provide evidence that we do so. Second, we must deliver a service description of what we will broadcast, and we are monitored against that. We propose that these funds will be made available for regulated broadcasters. There is no reference to public service in the Act, but there is a reference to social benefit. There is a specific remit for community broadcasters to provide a social benefit in our broadcasting. The regulation has certain other measures. As regulated broadcasters, we are covered by the same rules on advertising, complaints processes and so on.

Another point is that there is a media production environment. Some of the funding could be more loosely funded in this area. The model under the Sound and Vision scheme is interesting in that there must be a regulated broadcaster to support projects. Different groups can make programmes but a licensed broadcaster must give a commitment that it will broadcast a certain programme once it is made. Again, there is oversight from a regulatory point of view.