Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This Bill focuses on a number of things. It would enable the broadcasting authority to impose, reduce, and in some cases eliminate or exempt the payment of the broadcasting levy by certain broadcasters. I am worried because we do not know what charge will be imposed. It refers to providing flexibility to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland in dealing with the application of the broadcasting levy and introducing a new broadcasting funding scheme administered by the authority. It is very broad and we are not sure what it will constitute or how it will be meted out to the people who will be asked to pay. I am repeating what has been said to me all around my constituency. People are very dissatisfied with what RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 are producing for the fee they have to pay. TG4 appears to be the only station that satisfies a lot of people's requirements. People can watch matches and see the Fleadh Cheoil and other things of interest to people in rural Ireland. Current affairs and news on RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 are very good but many of the lighter programmes are very repetitive and viewers are sick of them, having seen them hundreds of times, so they turn off the television.

I am worried how the local radio stations in Kerry and around the country will fare under the new levies. They have to be supported because if it were not for Radio Kerry in the morning, people would not know if their neighbours were dead. The Road Traffic Act was imposed here by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, and his supporters as well as by those who abstained. Many people are isolated in their homes and cannot even go to the pub for one pint so they stay at home. Everyone listens to Radio Kerry attentively to see who is on the list of people who pass away. People like to go to funerals but they will miss these too, and there is no going to the creamery now and there are no local shops. Most of the post offices are closed as well as the Garda stations, and there is no interaction in rural Ireland any more.

Radio Kerry has a great current affairs programme from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. five days per week, with Treasa and Jerry who keep abreast of everything that happens locally and nationally. The service is invaluable. We have entertainment programmes such as Dermot Moriarty's country music show and there is a fairly full schedule from early in the morning to late at night, which provides entertainment for people of all ages. We have Danny O'Mahony with Irish music. It has been a revelation since its inception. We had a great sports commentator, Weeshie Fogarty, who was known countywide, nationally and internationally. He was a famous man who did great work for Kerry and the GAA and all sports in the country. He will be remembered forever even though he has gone now. We have new people like Timmy Moynihan, Ambrose O'Donovan and Billy O'Shea, who are doing great work in the GAA.

If not for that great radio station, many people would be very lonely in rural parts of Kerry. It is getting better and better and deserves credit and any support that we can give it. It is not getting money from licences, as I understand it, but it needs support because it is in competition with RTÉ. Even then, it is keeping the flag flying in Kerry and is doing a great job which we are all very proud of. I am concerned that this Bill is like writing a blank cheque for this regulator. My experience of regulators has not been good. Any of the regulators we know of that were supposed to do a job did not do it right. In one case, they left the country to go down the Swanee with what happened with financial institutions in our country.

This Bill is very broad. I cannot see that I can support this Bill until we get clarification and detail as to what people will be asked to pay. Will it be an addendum to the current television licence? Will it be instead of the television licence? That is what we were told for a while. We do not know what the charge will be. As I said already, people have a problem with what they are paying for at present. People pay when they are getting value for money but if they are not getting value for money, they are slow to pay. People I represent tell me that a good deal of what is shown on RTÉ at present is not up to much. They are not happy and there is not enough modern, current content on it which would interest most people. The current affairs and the news are very good and have to be supported. We thank it for the great job it is doing on those.

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