Joe O'Toole (Independent)

The Minister referred to co-operation on an east-west basis and across the entire island. Bearing in mind the Treaty of Rome and EU regulations governing the free movement of labour and services, I contend that the franchise areas operated by Sky Television are anti-European and anti-competitive and should be challenged.

I completely agree with the Minister's point, which I have made myself on many occasions, that we should not be dependent on Sky Television. I do not understand or support the notion that RTE should be encrypted on Sky. The opportunities we are missing out on are extraordinary. The Sky astro satellite has a footprint that stretches from Belmullet to the Balkans and south through most of Spain. All of that audience is available to us to put forward our message. Public service channels in small countries such as Cyprus and Malta, for instance, can be tuned into on a free-to-air basis throughout Europe. One can tune into RTE from any place in Europe but one cannot receive the signal unless one is a Sky customer.

The Minister said something revolutionary today and it is only fair to recognise that. It is important that we should not be dependent on the private sector — in this case, Sky Television. It would be easy for us to take satellite space on our own and to broadcast our public service channels on exactly the same frequency and geostationary reception area as they are currently assigned by Sky. An Irish person living in Brussels, Rome, Madrid or the south of France can happily watch Gaelic games or anything else on RTE television so long as they have gone to a shop in Ireland and bought a Sky satellite decoder and card and brought them with them.

I have had many discussions in recent years with RTE about why the service is encrypted rather then free-to-air. By putting up a satellite dish anywhere in France, Italy, Spain or the Benelux countries, one can, without being a Sky subscriber, tune into BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4, all free-to-air. RTE, however, cannot be received because it is encrypted. RTE says the reason it is encrypted is to do with the purchase of programmes and related strictures regarding audience sizes. I do not accept that explanation. However, even an arrangement whereby some programmes could be blanked out but news and home-made programmes could be broadcast free-to-air would be a major advance.

Every group of Irish emigrants in Europe to whom I have spoken raises this issue. RTE's response is that such people can tune in via the Internet. Many do so but the service should be available to view free-to-air. All over Europe, RTE Radio 1 and Radio 2, Lyric FM and Raidió na Gaeltachta can be accessed. Tá siadsan ar fáil on EPG simply. Why is this not the case in regard to RTE television services? The simplest way to facilitate the east-west co-operation to which the Minister referred is to have the RTE signal encrypted on an astro satellite platform so that viewers in Europe do not need to be Sky subscribers to access it. I ask the Minister to take on board this suggestion and to investigate whether the movement by Sky to create franchise areas in Europe is anti-European in that it mitigates against the free movement of labour and services. That is not available. In terms of our message as a country and an economy, this would be very attractive and something for which we should strive.