Seanad debates

Wednesday, 15 October 2003

Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. - Local Radio Licensing: Motion.

 

The review will look at the issue of local radio licensing from a range of perspectives, including that of the radio stations. It will also consider the approach to licensing radio services at a national, regional and community level. We have come a long way in a relatively short time. Less than a decade and a half ago we had no independent local radio services. Today, it is impossible to imagine a world without these services. Each one of us can tell our own tale of the key role our local radio station plays in our community. We can all point to individual examples of where the local radio station has made a real difference. More than anything else, it is in doing ordinary things that local stations have shone. Local radio truly has been about empowering local communities. The stories that matter to us in our day to day lives do not always deserve international or national coverage, but that does not mean those stories are not important to us. Local radio provides individual communities with the chance to tell their story and have their say. As the Minister said earlier, the story of local radio in Ireland has been a huge success. I agree with him that we should not be complacent. As policy makers it is our duty to ensure objectives are in place and strategies adopted to make certain the success story continues.

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