Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

Amendment No. 27 to section 4 and amendments Nos. 33 to 35, inclusive, to section 8 should be considered together. The aim of the amendments is to emphasise the importance of the BCI moving quickly to contract with applicants for national television multiplexes. The BCI will be obliged to consider DTT as a priority.

A key issue is ensuring a degree of coherence in timing around the RTE roll-out of its DTT multiplex, and the separate DTT multiplex is to be licensed by the BCI. While BCI may in due course consider regional or local television multiplexes, it is important that these first multiplexes give significant national coverage, taking into consideration the commercial realities.

The proposed Government amendments address the issues raised by Senators O'Meara, Ryan, McDowell, Tuffy and McCarthy in their amendment No. 35. I accept fully the spirit of the amendment but I propose amendments Nos. 27, 33 and 34 to achieve the same objective in a manner that is in keeping with the structure of the Bill. For that reason I cannot accept amendment No. 35. It is another case of where we are all trying to achieve the same objective and I believe we can do so.