Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I refer to a number of serious points raised by Deputies during the debate. I will leave the political points aside.

Deputy Durkan raised the issue of the provision in the Bill to allocate multiplexes on a regional basis for the purpose of radio broadcasting. This will be done by ComReg in consultation with the BCI. They may award the multiplex licence for radio specifying particular regions. It is important that this provision is in the Bill.

Many questions were asked about the value of the trial being undertaken and the reasons for it. The purpose of the trial is to assess DTT set-top boxes in an Irish environment. Deputy Eamon Ryan also raised this matter. Lessons were learned from the pilot scheme, in particular at the time of the Ryder Cup and more recently, which showed that it may interfere with other receptions. The purpose of a pilot scheme is to aim for perfection as much as possible.

We want to ensure set-top boxes which will operate in an Irish environment. The technology for DTT is known but it must be tuned and fine-tuned to Irish circumstances and the Irish environment and this is what we are doing.

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