Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate both Ministers on their appointments. It was mentioned previously but local radio stations play a major role. For many families, especially those in rural Ireland, the only communication they have is the local radio station. Local radio stations need the Minister's help. They have been trying to contact her since last July. Their advertising revenues have decreased. Local radio stations provide a fantastic service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I am aware the Minister has agreed to meet them in mid-November. I have been talking to my local radio station in Louth, LMFM, and they asked me to ask the Minister three questions today to give them the information that they will need for November. First, they request that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, be provided additional sound and vision funding to the sector to cover the pay period from September 2020 to February 2021, similar to the scheme rolled out in April 2020 which covered the period May to July 2020. Second, they want an immediate suspension of the BAI levies backdated to July 2020 and the funding of the BAI from the Government Central Fund. Third, in recognition of the essential services they provide and the unique circumstances facing local radio stations, whose advertising revenue has fallen by 20% or more, they ask that they would become eligible for the employment wage subsidy scheme.

All of us, as politicians, use the local radio stations but it is not just us; it is everybody. It is about communicating. I appreciate that the Minister has given a commitment to meet the local radio stations in November but I ask her to, please, look after them.

My next question is for the Minister of State with responsibility for sport. As he knows, I am a sports person and I have to commend the job he is doing at the moment. The €85 million he has given to the sporting organisations over the past number of months is fantastic. I am a firm believer in the health and well-being of the players and the other people who are involved. During the pandemic, all those involved in local sports put their shoulders to the wheel. The amount of work they have done within the community is unbelievable. They have taken people to doctors' appointments and have done shopping for people. They have done everything they could do.

In terms of my biggest fear, and we have to make the Minister accountable, this money has to be distributed to the grassroots. I have spoken to people in soccer clubs, GAA clubs and rugby clubs and they tell me that no funding whatsoever is coming in. Whether it is from the bar, draws or whatever, nothing is happening. They have been pleading with me in that regard. If we look closely we can see that it seems to be the same clubs that get the revenue every year. There are special people in those clubs who are very good at completing application forms and so on but many clubs do not have such people yet they are bursting their backsides to make sure the local communities, especially those in rural Ireland, are looked after. Will the Minister give a commitment to provide the information the local radio stations want and that she will meet them in November?