Dáil debates
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
Topical Issue Debate
Radio Broadcasting
5:30 pm
John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter and the Minister for attending to respond. This issue is the funding of local radio. Over the course of the last 20 years no other medium in this country has expanded as rapidly to the four corners of the island as local radio.
There are 34 or 35 local radio stations operating in the Republic of Ireland at present but their access to funding from the State is very limited, to say the least. The Sound & Vision scheme, which is funded from the licence fee, is approximately 7% of the total licence fee take. In that scheme very strict guidelines are imposed on the local media providers in terms of how that funding can be drawn down. These businesses have not been immune to the downturn in the economy over the last few years and many of them have experienced significant cutbacks in terms of their employment. They employ hundreds of people across the country. They have lobbied and been anxious for a period of time that the Government would honour its commitment in the programme for Government to undertake a review of the funding of broadcasting to ensure a viable sector for both independent and State-owned broadcasters.
The current provision under the Sound & Vision scheme is limited very much to programmes that can be provided primarily in the areas of history, culture and the Irish language. Indeed, most of the funding from that scheme is granted to the existing State-owned media outlets and a very small proportion of it ends up being utilised on local media outlets. In many parts of the country, not least in my own, local radio is by far the most listened to and most used form of media on a daily basis, and there is a need for the Government and the Minister to ensure that the sector remains viable into the future.
I hope the Minister will have some positive news in that regard. I will take the opportunity afterwards to respond to his comments.
Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Government policy is to encourage and support a diverse media that serves all of the people. Licence fee funding for public service broadcasting provides an independent and reliable income, which allows the two public service broadcasters - RTE and TG4 - to meet their public service objectives with a high level of editorial independence. This is especially important in the context of news and current affairs. Under the dual funding model, RTE is statutorily obliged to use its commercial revenues to further subsidise its public service obligations.
All public, community and independent commercial broadcasters can access public funding from the broadcasting funding scheme, mentioned by the Deputy, which encourages programming on Irish culture, heritage, adult literacy and global issues. Funded by 7% of net television licence fee receipts, Sound & Vision II funded 477 projects, worth over €3.6 million, from commercial radio stations. This represented 40% of the total radio allocation. By contrast, allocations to public service broadcasting stations from the fund in the same period were worth less than €1 .6 million or 18% of the total.
I fully recognise the contribution that the commercial sector makes to broadcasting in Ireland, but I remain to be convinced that the further distribution of public funds to independent commercial broadcasters, beyond the supports that already exist, would represent good public or broadcasting policy. The net effect of such a move would be to reduce the amount of funding available to all other broadcasters, community and public, and I see little logic in this proposition in the current circumstances.
I recently published an economic analysis of the Irish advertising market, which was undertaken by Indecon as part of the Government's response to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland's five year review of the funding of public service broadcasting. It is now my intention to put forward a number of proposals for amending the current regulatory framework for advertising. In regard to commercial radio advertising, I am proposing to give the BAI oversight and control of the amount of advertising minutage allowed to such broadcasters. I expect that this will provide more flexibility than in the current situation, where the amount of permitted minutage is effectively set in stone. I will also put forward amendments to ensure that the BAI's reviews of public service broadcasting funding will always take account of the impact of its recommendations on the broader advertising market.
I believe that these proposed changes will lead to a more sustainable advertising regulatory framework for all broadcasters which, in the context of an improving economy, should assist in delivering a viable future for everyone in the sector.
John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I cannot say that I am entirely satisfied with the Minister's response. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to review the system, and the Minister has outlined some of the changes he proposes to make. However, it has been brought to my attention with regard to the Sound & Vision fund, which is the 7% figure I mentioned earlier, that the funding for individual television projects tends to be in the range of over €100,000, whereas funding for radio projects tends to be in the €4,000 to €5,000 category. The reality is that for many communities, individuals and families in this country, their local radio station is their supplier of news and current affairs information.
While I understand the limitations of the existing system, I feel the current provision is not adequately reflective of where people actually get their news and current affairs content from. The Minister has outlined some changes in relation to advertising, which are to be welcomed. The recent economic downturn has had a significant effect on local radio providers around the country. Changes in that regard may have an impact into the future, but there is a crunch or pinch situation that exists at present. I suggest that in terms of what the licence fee aims to provide, the allocation received by local independent radio stations, or for which they are eligible to apply, is not reflective of the content produced by such stations on a daily basis. I will probably return to this matter again. I hope the Minister will be in a position to have a rethink on it before he makes any final decisions.
5:40 pm
Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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While I am responsible as Minister for these issues in the first instance, they touch on the legislation that is in place. For that reason, a legislative amendment would be required if we were to go down the road being suggested, or at least being suggested for discussion, by the Deputy. I have to say I have some sympathy with the point he has made about radio. As a former radio producer, I fully appreciate the importance of radio, particularly local radio, in the area of news and current affairs and in the area of programming generally. Radio makes a critically important contribution to social and community life in urban and rural areas across the country.
Given that one can achieve so much more bang for one's buck with radio programming, it is sometimes frustrating for people who work in radio to see the huge amounts of money that seem to be spent in the public and private sectors on the production of television programming. That is the point I would make, with the indulgence of the Chair, about the public and private approaches to what radio can do and can achieve. The consideration by any Government of a transfer of public funding to private commercial operators would not be not without controversy and should therefore be given serious consideration by the Oireachtas. At the very minimum, a considerable debate about the circumstances in which we might want to take the licence fee and distribute it across the board to commercial operators would have to take place in this House. We would need to have regard to the likely impact that would have on public service broadcasters and public service broadcasting. It is natural that the withdrawal of resources from public service broadcasting will have an impact.
I understand the issues raised by the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland and the various radio stations around the country, many of which have suffered greatly as a result of the impact of the recession. I want to see this sector thriving. It is very much part of my thinking to ensure it grows and thrives, but not at the expense of the public sector. We should be able to configure our funding arrangements and our regulatory system, in relation to advertising minutage and so on, in a way that ensures we do not seek to improve one sector by taking resources away from another sector. I will be quite happy to return to this issue with the Deputy and with others in this House. I reiterate that it is extremely important for us to support broadcasting generally and ensure both the public and private sectors can survive and thrive into the future.