Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to the Minister for clarifying the situation. Will the provision of a multiplex broadcasting to the UK have to address copyright issues? It is accepted there will be no re-broadcast of current RTE television services because of these rights issues. American soap operas, movies, sporting events broadcast on RTE have attached rights to them. It will be a challenge as to the mix of programmes that will be broadcast on the multiplex for the UK.

On Second Stage, I explained one of the main reasons Tara Television failed was because it mainly used archive material from the 1970s and 1980s and did not reflect Irish current affairs. All involved in this area will know that the Irish community in the UK is anxious to get contemporary news and current affairs programmers from RTE because they want to feel the sense of belonging to the nation. I agree commercial interests will dictate the number of channels. The popularity of British channels in Ireland, it has been suggested, has given rise to a form of blackmail. If one wants British channels one has to sign up to providers such as Sky, NTL and Chorus.

Will the Minister explain the references to Northern Ireland, the BCI and its obligations regarding the provision of services? Is there some way to address this deficit? While BBC television is generally available across two-thirds of the country, RTE television is not available in large parts of Northern Ireland. It is not simply a matter of saying it is available to anybody who wants it. Ensuring such availability may require additional expenditure and the erection of a 50 ft. aerial. My concern is that people in the North, particularly members of the Unionist community, are getting an unbalanced view of this part of the island.

I am passionately committed to the view that RTE should be available across the island, including those large parts of the North where it is not currently available. The Minister knows more about this than I do because he deals with officials at senior level. My suggestion of a charter amendment is one possible way forward. We are essentially at one on this; I know the Minister would also like to see this happen. All we can do is urge him to continue to make the appropriate representations.