John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I join the Acting Chairman in thanking the Leader for arranging this debate so soon after we raised the issue in the House. I agree with much of what my colleague, Senator Browne, said. He spoke about what is happening in Kilkenny. I know there are difficulties in other parts of the country also, but, as a Kilkenny man, I am very conscious of the controversy that has arisen about the position of Radio Kilkenny and the fact that its licence has been withdrawn. Consistent JNLR survey results have shown that Radio Kilkenny has been one of the two or three most listened-to radio stations in the country. It is, and has always been, run on a co-operative basis by the community in Kilkenny and it has been by any measure an outstanding success. Senator Browne has outlined the importance of local radio so I will not rehash it, but we all know the significance of its role, especially in rural areas.

With regard to Radio Kilkenny, it appears the BCI decided to change the franchise area that existed between Carlow and Kildare. As Senator Browne pointed out, it decided that Carlow would be included with Kilkenny for radio licensing purposes. While I accept there are many cross-overs between Carlow and Kilkenny – in a political sense there has always been a relationship between Carlow and Kilkenny – how did the BCI arrive at its decision to divide Carlow from Kildare and, following on from that, to include Carlow with Kilkenny in the context of local radio? That is the nub of the issue from a Radio Kilkenny point of view and from where the problem arose. The question of franchise areas and how they are determined has not been properly explained. The BCI has work to do in that regard.