David Norris (Independent)

I am disappointed with the Minister of State's lamentable response but I will put him on probation and will not push this to a vote. I ask him to reconsider, however. He argued that the matter is more appropriate to the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources but I disagree. RTE is to be urged to provide this signal but we know perfectly well it is not doing so at present. The evidence we are placing before the Minister of State reveals it is not happening. The signal is down to half power, so people in the south east are not receiving the signal, let alone England and elsewhere abroad. We need a requirement because urging RTE is not sufficient.

In light of the Government's planned response to a disaster, I have demonstrated with a fair amount of technical backup from broadcasting engineers, retired RTE personnel and other knowledgeable people that the system is inadequate. In the event of a national emergency, half the Government's plan would fall to pieces due to the lack of power in transmission.

It is not acceptable to say we will urge or encourage RTE because it should be required to provide an adequate signal. I will not press these amendments and I understand Senator O'Reilly agrees. We will leave them until Report Stage but I would like a commitment from the Minister of State that he will at least re-examine the matter in light of the evidence Senator O'Toole, Senator O'Reilly and I put before him today. Our arguments were strongly supported by the Leader of the House, so even from a political point of view it would not be wise to completely ignore the amendments. I ask the Minister of State to indicate that he will reconsider them on Report Stage. We will play our part in the political dialogue and will not push the amendments to a vote but will resubmit them on Report Stage in the hope that we can make progress. If this matter is not addressed in the Seanad, which is charged with refining legislation and pointing out gaps, it may arise in a more argumentative fashion in the other House. The Government may have voting strength in the Dáil but the debate there will possibly be more awkward.