Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

The Minister's amendment appears to meet our concerns. I agree with the Minister that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet. It is important that the BCI moves quickly to arrange for the establishment of the multiplexes.

Will the Minister clarify one point? His amendment No. 27 states that it will be the duty of the commission to arrange for the establishment etc. of three national multiplexes. Does the Minster see that happening simultaneously or one after the other? That is an important point. My understanding is that there is no reason the BCI could not roll out two simultaneously, which might meet some of our concerns regarding a point we have not yet discussed, namely, free-to-air access, especially of British channels currently available free to air on the east coast. That is in the context of the availability of those channels which will no longer be available when the analogue system ends. Will the Minister clarify that point? I accept that the amendment meets our concerns.