Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

The Senator is right. I meant programmes transmitted on Irish television. What I am trying to illustrate is that with any imported television programme currently running on RTE or TV3, the copyright relates to transmission within this country. The fee paid by television companies is based on the number of television sets in the country. We in Ireland can perhaps get many of these programmes more quickly than the British because we have good negotiators and are operating at a lower price level. This option will not be available because of the copyright problems so, therefore, it will be a challenge for all concerned to ensure the mix of programmes provided to the Irish community in Great Britain or elsewhere outside this country will be fresh and current and convey a sense of what it is to be living in Ireland as we go forward.

I wish to return briefly to the area of sound broadcasting. Specifically, I ask the Minister if this Bill is essentially a mandate to RTE to provide broadcasting services to the Irish abroad, and not just exclusively in the area of television simply because of the various references made about the amendment to the Broadcasting Authority Act 1960 and the fact that in one section of the Bill there is a reference to the obligations of the new authority. The section provides that the authority will be required, "as soon as may be after the end of each financial year, make a report to the Minister of the use it has made with regard to, respectively, the television broadcasting service and the sound broadcasting service referred to in subsection (1)".

In view of this I suggest — I would appreciate clarification from the Minister on this — that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland will have an obligation to, in turn, request from the suppliers a balance sheet or account of their stewardship in terms of what they will provide in the relevant financial year. In that context, and if that is the case, it is incumbent and should be an obligation on RTE to provide sound broadcasting services into the UK.

I wish to declare an interest at this stage. I am employed on a freelance basis by RTE. I was employed on a contract basis for approximately 20 years to the late 1990s and still work intermittently on special radio projects for RTE radio. Some of these programmes which were produced in recent years were concerned with the Irish in Great Britain. Most recently, I completed a series before Christmas called "The Irish Experience". I make this declaration because in arguing for an expansion of sound radio services to the diaspora in Great Britain, I do not wish my remarks to be interpreted as making a job application.

I am totally and passionately committed to the Irish community in Great Britain and beyond. I am a former emigrant and make no apologies for highlighting emigrant issues in this House and outside. It is in this wider context and because of my personal experience of the overwhelming desire of the Irish in Great Britain to have both radio and television services that I make this case. I would be the happiest person in the world if there was a legal obligation on RTE to regularly provide sound broadcasting services for the Irish in Great Britain. Irrespective of who presents them or how they are structured, I am essentially seeking to establish the principle here. From my correspondence with the Minister, I know his thinking is similar to mine. However, we are all constrained by legal obligations in terms of legislation and it would be helpful if I was made aware of this.

Overall, this is timely legislation. It brings us rapidly to the cutting edge of technology. I acknowledge the submissions made by the Emigrant Advice Network, which has made a similar case to that which I modestly attempted to make here today in terms of using modern technology to provide an efficient, technologically modern radio service, not just for the Irish in Great Britain but for any Irish people who travel across Europe. When we travel across the continent of Europe, all of us, including the Minister and several of his colleagues, with whom we have discussed this matter, will at some time or another automatically attempt to tune in to RTE to find out what is going on. It is not always possible to get this service, although I welcome the fact that, according to the briefing, the new long wave transmitter will be Digital Radio Mondiale-capable. This is the format currently being used by 32 broadcasters across Europe and as far afield as Radio New Zealand International.

All of us will encourage DRM to be developed as a major communications tool to reach Irish audiences throughout Europe. It is not simply that the technological development is a good thing; Ireland's national interests are also a factor. It is about putting forward the image of Ireland as a modern, dynamic society. What better way of doing so than through the medium of radio, which is still a hugely popular medium and one that given the encouragement from the Minister's Department, can develop and advance in linking in to the modern technological options now available for the free and easy transmission of radio.

I pay tribute to my colleague, Senator Kenneally, for his very informative contribution to this debate. I also wish to put on record my appreciation of the work of the Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel O'Flynn, who, alongside the Minister, developed the initiative called e-Consultation, which was created by the Minister some months back. I believe the Minister's Department was the first to do this. There is now general and public access to the consultative process relating to communications legislation and public hearings held by the joint committee used the most modern technology, namely, webcasting, to get the message across in January. The Minister greatly encouraged this approach and I pay compliment to the Chairman and the members of the committee for taking this initiative.