Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ireland is a nation of radio listeners with more than 3 million people tuning in to their local stations every day to catch up on current affairs, entertainment, local news, sports and music. However, despite their popularity, local and regional radio stations have seen their revenue decline substantially over the past ten years. My local radio station, Waterford Local Radio, WLR, has an amazing number of listeners, with 71% of all adults living in Waterford listening to it every week. That is a phenomenal vote of confidence in the presenters and the programmes. The station employs up to 50 people. The amount of employment these independent stations give has not been mentioned here today. One cannot mention WLR without mentioning the late great Billy McCarthy, synonymous with local independent radio for many years. We are also very lucky to have a second station, Beat, the go-to mighty platform radio station for entertaining and informing young adults in the south east. The familiarity of the voice on the radio every day brings the presenter into our homes. Whether it is the current affairs programme with Damien Tiernan, or the "Lunchbox" with Geoff Harris, or Teresanne on "The Drive Home", the effect is immediate.

Local stations have a contractual obligation to fulfil the 20% public service obligation to provide news and current affairs programming, but they are finding it increasingly difficult to find the funds to maintain a full service newsroom. If this pressure continues, the focus on local and regional stories may have to be reduced. This motion today rightly puts the focus on the financial pressures many stations come under to fulfil these obligations and the important role these stations play 365 days a year.

See this speech in context