Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

I welcome the Broadcasting Bill. The Bill contains much needed reform and modernisation of the broadcasting laws. I welcome it within the context of what I hope and believe will be a new era for Irish television with the proposed introduction of an Oireachtas channel, which, I hope, in tandem with much-needed Dáil reform, will refresh the engagement between the public and the process of politics.

The Minister indicated the channel may also broadcast proceedings from local authority proceedings throughout the country. Indeed, when I was a member of Carlow County Council I called for this measure and it was greeted with ridicule. I hope this is introduced. I am glad to see it might be taken up. Furthermore, I believe it would dovetail nicely with the plans of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, for reform of local government.

I hope an Irish film channel will provide further encouragement for our small, but precious, film industry which deserves all the support it can get from the Government to grow, produce and export itself across the globe.

Tá na tagairtí sa Bhille maidir le chur chun cinn oibreacha scannáin sa teanga náisiúnta an-tábhachtach. Ní chóir go mbeadh TG4 amháin freagrach as scannáin Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn.

I particularly refer to the provision in section 42 of the Bill for a broadcasting code on junk food advertising for children. This week we saw incredible new research showing the unacceptably high levels of sugar and fat in Irish cereals. All of us who shop or who are parents know how attractive advertising during day-time television can be to children. Much of the "I want that" seen in the shopping aisles, where a frustrated mother and a screaming toddler have a public demonstration of pester power, is down to the visual memory of a child-orientated advertisement where the child must have that product now. A 15 month old daughter of a colleague of mine knows the advertisements for Rice Krispies, and only Rice Krispies will do. The Government and the new regulator must intervene in this area to monitor and restrict such advertising.

I am pleased, too, that the legislation also refers to salt as an ingredient of concern in the context of the health of children. While the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has reported progress in recent years in the reduction of salt levels in Ireland, the significant reductions in salt announced by cereal producers is evidence that we must cut it down as the levels have been too high in Ireland. I hope that the new code and its impact on advertising will contribute positively to the salt reduction programme. I hope we all know that we should take less than 6g of salt per day by 2010. Excessive salt is simply a serious danger to our health.

The section of the Bill dealing with the future of radio licences is of particular interest to me and I am pleased to see the broad support of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland for this Bill. For people in rural constituencies, like me in Carlow-Kilkenny, a vibrant future for local and regional radio stations is very important. The local radio is a source of news and debate on local issues, a medium which can bring the people of communities and areas together through knowledge of events such as the results of a recent hurling match, the price of grain or, most important, in big sprawling rural constituencies, obituaries and death notices into which people tune every day. I was supportive of successful efforts to restore a local radio station when we lost Radio Kilkenny and we now have a new station, kclr96fm.com. It certainly reaches out like many other local radio stations throughout the country and I support it.

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