Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I wish to raise an issue with the Minister that I raised on Committee Stage. I have no objection to the amendments, but I would like clarification. The question of Irish people living abroad accessing Irish broadcasting is a matter of some significance in respect of which the Minister has been supportive in his comments during the years. I am trying to establish the situation regarding access to Irish radio and television for people living elsewhere in Europe, which are shown on the Sky digital system, the Astra satellite. People with digital dishes and decoders and who are living anywhere in the satellite's footprint in Europe can tune into RTE Radio 1, Radio 2, Lyric FM and Raidió na Gaeltachta without paying Sky. The reception is clear. Recently, Newstalk may have been added.

People's access abroad does not concern the amendment precisely, but RTE television is encrypted on Sky. Someone without a Sky card who is living in Brussels with a dish on his or her roof and a satellite decoder can tune into free-to-air BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, BBC 4, ITV 1, ITV 2, ITV 3, ITV 4 and the broadcasts of many small countries, such as Cyprus and Malta, but RTE is encrypted. This is a significant loss.

When the Minister and I went to school, approximately 60% of our imports and exports came from and went to, respectively, the UK. I was astounded to see the latest figures from Enterprise Ireland to the effect that our exports to the European mainland are far greater than our exports to the UK. That would have been unthinkable ten years ago, when we were talking about joining economic and monetary union. Ireland has a huge engagement with Europe. It is completely wrong that RTE is encrypted in certain areas. I have written to the RTE Authority to ask why that is the case. The Minister explained it once by talking about copyright issues.

I want to make clear what I am talking about. I accept that if RTE buys an American television series for a price that is based on this country's population, it would not be able to make that programme available to people throughout Europe without running into difficulties. If a person living outside the UK tunes into the Scottish version of ITV or BBC as a Celtic football match is about to be broadcast, he or she will find that the transmission stops just as the match begins. The television stations in question are not allowed to show certain programmes in other jurisdictions. I am not concerned about such programmes, however. I would like home-made programmes like "Prime Time" and news programmes, in respect of which no copyright law other than Irish copyright law arises, to be broadcast overseas. Not only would such broadcasts help Irish people who live abroad to keep in touch, but they would also help to sell this country to people in the wider world who want to know and hear about Ireland. While I do not want to talk about tourism, it is also relevant in this regard.

The Government has an opportunity to do something easy by ensuring that RTE broadcasts are not encrypted. Three months ago, the French authorities established a new 24-hour news channel, France 24, which broadcasts in English rather than French. Who would have believed it? It is available on channel 515 on the Sky platform, where the ITV News Channel used to be. While the French authorities hate the English language, they understand the importance of broadcasting in English to the wider world. Ireland and France have exactly the same level of access to the Astra satellite. I will set aside the issue of whether we should be pushing out these services on other satellites. No other satellite can match the footprint of the Astra satellite, which covers an area from Belmullet to the far east of Europe. I would like to know whether any progress is being made in that regard.

I welcome the Minister's recent announcement that RTE is to set up a new channel for emigrants, taking over from what Tara Television was doing when it broadcast into the UK eight or nine years ago. Will the new channel be encrypted? Will it be available on a single platform only? One of the amendments under discussion relates to the need to ensure that television services are available to all of Ireland. The point I am making is that we all should have the same access. This is of huge cultural importance in terms of the Good Friday Agreement. In a week when it was revealed that Ian Paisley has ordered his clerical garb from a Catholic wholesaler based in County Donegal, we should take a broad look at matters like this. The same platform of programmes should be available in Belfast and Dublin, to those who want them. There should be an understanding that allows everyone on this island to delve in and out of, and deal with, the same group of programmes.

Issues like access are important. Will the new station that is being put together by RTE be encrypted? Will people have full and easy access to it? Is it based on a recognition that Irish people living abroad, as well as other people overseas who are interested in Ireland, are entitled to access these services? Does the Minister acknowledge that such access is important for reasons of culture, economics and growth? It is a pan-European issue, as we said earlier today when we discussed the Schengen Agreement. It is as important as having a passport. Why should Sky decide that people cannot access a certain television channel because it is encrypted? We will lose out badly if we allow that to happen — we will do not do ourselves any good when trying to exert a wider influence over a larger part of Europe. I am keen to hear the Minister's views on that.