Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I thank Senator Mooney for his generous, creative and broad-minded approach to this issue. It contrasts with the Minister of State's narrow and limited view of the issue, unfortunately. I appreciate the acceptance of this amendment would pose many challenges to those working in this area. We face challenges every day of the week as we go through life — that is what we are here for. Governments, in particular, are in the business of facing challenges. The aim of this amendment is to ensure services which have been available for many years are continued. While it may be an accident that such services are available, people have got used to them.

Like Senator Mooney, I grew up in the midlands, where BBC channels were not available. When I was a child, I went to Arklow, County Wicklow, to visit my uncle, who had a range of BBC channels. By viewing those channels, it was possible to experience a similar but different culture. The availability of the BBC channels broadens one's mind, engenders a sense of closeness to Ireland's nearest neighbour and allows us to participate in the wider community. I do not suggest such experiences will not be available in the future, because people will continue to buy cable and satellite services.

This legislation gives the Government an opportunity to be generous by extending to the rest of the country the services which are available to many people on the east coast. While it would not be easy, it would be a generous gesture. If they put their minds to it, it is not beyond the capacity of the officials in the Department or the Government to address the many issues which have to be dealt with. It is clear they are not minded to do so, however. That is regrettable because this Bill represents a great opportunity for them to do something about a matter that will be a source of trouble in the future.

I am sure the Minister of State recalls the controversy some years ago about television deflectors. Senator Coonan mentioned the problems which arose when people who were used to being able to view a set of channels were no longer able to do so as a result of changes in broadcasting legislation. People were very upset when services started to be provided by legal operators like Chorus and Horizon. I remember well that it was a big issue in the 1997 general election. I am surprised the Minister of State, as a politician, cannot see that his failure to act in this regard will lead to trouble in the future. It is a pity there is a sense of denial in this regard.

There is no point in blaming the UK authorities for taking away these channels by moving them from analogue to digital, when we could play a role in that process. As Senator Mooney said, there is considerable co-operation between the British authorities and their counterparts here. There is no reason people cannot sit down, roll up their sleeves and reach agreement on this matter. I am disappointed with the Minister of State's narrow and limited response to my proposal. There may be trouble in this respect in the future.