Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I had intended waiting until the debate on the section to raise Senator Henry's important point. In light of what is included as part of these amendments, section 4(4)(b) states: "any television broadcasting service in Northern Ireland that is notified to the Commission by the Minister, being a service that is receivable throughout the whole of Northern Ireland and is provided by terrestrial means". All of us who have been following this issue are aware that there is some resistance on the British side to allowing access to RTE television within Northern Ireland. I understand, and perhaps the Minister will confirm this, that under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement it was agreed by both sides that TG4 should be accessible, especially in parts of Belfast where the signal is not readily available. It is interesting that as it was seen as an Irish language channel and had a cultural dimension, there was no difficulty in it being broadcast there. Is it possible in the Minister's discussions with his British counterpart that consideration might be given to amending the BBC's charter to legally permit the transmission of BBC Northern Ireland across the island of Ireland? A reciprocal arrangement could be then introduced whereby RTE television would also be likewise transmitted.