Mary Henry (Independent)

On the free-to-air British channels that are easily received in most areas of the country, will one of these multiplexes take care of them? I do not suppose the Minister is in a position to force them to do so but I would have thought that was important. Will there be any competition among the various groups that will set up these multiplexes so that we will know what each is offering?

I scarcely dare mention this but is there any problem about political agreement on this issue? I am aware it is all part of the Good Friday Agreement under which we will all have access to each other's television and radio stations and so on but in the past, before the Good Friday Agreement, when I brought up accessibility of the RTE stations in areas of Northern Ireland where there was no overspill, I was told there was a problem getting agreement for rebroadcasting in such areas. I presume it can be taken there is political agreement on all this.