Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----on a regular basis by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, and that breaches of licence for a lack of Irish music broadcasting are a rare occurrence. In addition to the 33% daily output, WLR FM also broadcasts three separate Irish music programmes that air on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. An Irish music feature promoting new Irish music is broadcast daily from Monday to Thursday on WLR FM. These radio stations are not opposed to Irish music. They have a strong public service remit and included in that is the promotion of Irish music of all genres. It is one that independent radio stations are keen to fulfil.

I also spoke to Gabrielle Cummins who is the managing director of Beat FM, which appeals to an audience of people between 15 and 35 years of age. The station believes that this is a critical time for recruiting and retaining young listeners. Ms Cummins said that the challenge is difficult and she believes that enforced quotas as high as the 40% proposed by the Labour Party would drive young ears even more quickly to streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. I have a 19 year old and 23 year old at home and I see how often they have headphones on to listen to Spotify and Apple Music. Irish artists have a much better chance of decent exposure on Irish radio than on Spotify or Apple Music playlists because they get decent rotations on air. If the legislation is passed, the end result could create a worse situation for Irish music artists if fewer young people are listening to radio.

I also note that the proposed legislation only appears to cover independent radio and will not impact on RTE. That is undemocratic. The public service broadcaster should be to the fore in championing new Irish music, yet no quotas exist for its stations. The Bill is an aggressive measure both for our cultural production and the broadcasting sector which play a very important role in Ireland. Undoubtedly, the arrival of Internet-based music streaming services and radio presents a significant challenge. I do not doubt the Deputy's passion in introducing this Bill but I believe it is a step too far. The radio stations are adhering to their quotas of between 20% and 30%, depending on where one lives.

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