Mr. Ronan McManamy:

I thank the Chair and the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Senator Mark Daly. I am the chief executive of Clare FM and Tipp FM. I thank the committee for its invitation to attend this meeting and its ongoing interest in the sector. I strongly endorse Mr. Purcell's points. My colleagues in IBI and I are united in our desire to protect our industry and to continue to provide the service demanded by listeners. I will try to give a sense of where stations such as Clare FM and Tipp FM are at and, more importantly, what the future holds. Later I will zone in on news and current affairs in particular, and the financing that is currently available to us.

After an uncertain start, most stations in Ireland are now well established, performing very strongly from a listenership perspective, and providing a very valuable public service. We have a depth and breadth of service unlike anywhere else in the world and we have created something really unique. More importantly, we provide a valuable public service within relatively small markets. We play a key role in the democratic process at local, regional and national levels.

Most stations in Ireland, after an uncertain start, are now well-established, performing strongly from a listenership perspective and providing a valuable public service. We have a depth and breadth of service unlike anywhere else in the world and we have created something unique. More importantly, we provide a valuable service within relatively small markets. We play a key role in the democratic process at a local, regional and national level. We provide a balance to the misinformation that currently thrives on social media and, most importantly, we play a critical role in local communities by supporting local charities, businesses, sporting organisations, the local arts sector and so on. From a listenership perspective, we are in a good place. We are resilient and entrenched in our communities. This was clearly highlighted during the recent pandemic when we were able to get key messaging across on a trusted medium within minutes of receiving it. Credit for where we have got to goes to the talented people working in the sector; the BAI that has overseen the orderly development of the sector; and politicians who have made some key interventions over the years, none more so than the funding we received during the pandemic. We are grateful for that.

However, we cannot take the current situation for granted. While listenership is strong, the financing of stations is under significant pressure, with most local stations now making modest profits at best. This has an obvious knock-on effect on investment in programming and staffing. The advertising market has changed dramatically with more than half of all national budgets now going to digital operators that have little oversight. At a local level, advertising spend has been challenged by Covid-19 related issues and the cost-of-living crisis. One of the main challenges for local stations remains the financing of local news and current affairs. Local stations in other countries tend to be music-based with no current affairs and a handful of news bulletins per day. The BBC recently announced plans to reduce its local programming on its local network to just two shows per day. We cannot take what we have created for granted. We do not want to go that route. Funding to protect news and current affairs output in the independent sector is urgently required.

We are often told that this funding is already available through the sound and vision scheme but historically this has been of limited benefit to the sector. While well-intentioned, the funding available includes significant administration for small amounts; is unsuitable for the live environment we operate in; and is prescriptive in terms of the type of programming that funds can be used for. In general, it applies to short-term funding for additional programming and cannot be used to secure the output we have already proved provides a valuable public service. There have been some positive developments in recent times however, with a ring-fenced round for Covid-19 and an industry-wide application for Irish music month but further reform is urgently required. It was good to see journalism in Ireland being supported through the recent VAT reduction on newspapers but our journalism also needs recognition and support. It is worth noting that the manner in which this funding was made available trusted newspaper operators to allocate up to €39 million in annual funding to where they thought best, without providing any guarantees on public service outcomes. Unfortunately, when it comes to radio, there is huge frustration about the hoops we have to jump through for assistance despite us having no issue in justifying how public moneys are allocated.

Schemes were recently recommended by the Future of Media Commission and these should be accepted by the Government. These include local democracy, court reporting and news reporting schemes as well supports for digital transformation. These schemes are welcome but the devil is in the detail. It is vital we learn from the sound and vision scheme and ensure these are adequately funded and have administration proportionate to the amounts involved. More importantly, amounts should be ring-fenced for radio and direct funding for existing public service elements given serious consideration.

Irish radio stations provide a valuable public service at a local, regional and national level and this needs to be protected long into the future. There are opportunities to achieve some of this through funding that is already in place or proposed but schemes need to be less about reprogramming our stations and more about directing funding to where it is needed.