Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this debate. It provides an important opportunity to discuss the role of local radio stations. I also welcome the fact that we had a briefing session in the audiovisual room yesterday, which was crowded with Members of the Oireachtas. It is important that the report is published and the broadcasting Bill is brought forward as quickly as possible. This issue has been around for a long time and needs to be addressed. In his contribution this morning, the Minister talked about the need for a clear public purpose to satisfy competition rules. That should not be a problem. Local radio stations serve a clear public purpose, especially in the context of their morning news programmes and the amount of information they disseminate regarding community activities and cultural and sporting events. My local radio station, Limerick's Live95FM, is particularly strong in this regard. That is also true of other stations. They are under challenge from digital media and various sources of news available to people around the country. This is about collecting extra money because we know that our national broadcaster needs to be funded too. Local radio stations are crucial for communities and, in particular, for those who live alone in isolated areas because they provide a link to what is going on.

This has been floating around for a long time and it is now time to ensure there is a response from the Government. We must support diversity and genuine local news and current affairs programme produced in radio stations right around the country.

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