Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, to the House. This matter is of serious import to many people. There are aspects of it that are not entirely under the control of the Department or the Minister and I acknowledge that. It is of serious political concern to the rest of us and for that reason we must have some reassurances from the Minister of State.

RTE reception, especially throughout the UK, has disimproved due to the changeover from medium wave to long wave. I stress that I support the idea of that move because long wave reception is much nearer to FM quality. The problem is that there has been a reduction in the quality and the output. This has given real concern to emigrant groups all over the UK who have contacted me, and also, doubtless, my colleagues on both sides of this House and the other House. On a regular basis people have reported to me that the situation is unacceptable. This House has debated the rights of emigrants and the need to support them on many occasions.

This matter is of considerable importance to the GAA community in the UK. I talked to the cathaoirleach of the provincial council of the GAA of Great Britain who is appalled at the reduction in reception. The thrust of the Good Friday Agreement as it related to broadcasting was that there would be an easier overlap of signals between both countries.

Most importantly, I cannot get honest clear information from RTE on this matter. It is not possible to get it. I know that the Departmental advisors have dealt with this and I wish to put a number of issues on record for them. First, I have a letter written in 2002 to Deputy Brian O'Shea, signed by a person in RTE. I will not give names here as there is no point in doing that but the Minister of State can take my word. I shall send him a copy and leave one for the Cathaoirleach. The letter informed Deputy O'Shea that there was no clear signal reception in greater London as Tullamore medium wave had equal or better coverage. At this time the question posed was the opposite to the one put now. When people requested that reception be improved they were told that the medium wave reception was better than, or, at very least, equal to, long wave in the greater London area. I have this letter and shall let the officials see it.

In March of this year, in a letter which also came from RTE, it was stated that long wave is superior in its reach: "for example it is difficult to receive RTE medium wave in London but most of the city has good long wave". That second letter was written to the clerk of the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, of which I am a member.

I am infuriated by being given the runaround by RTE. If people in that organisation think they will get away with this I tell them they will not. I shall stick with this issue and embarrass them until we get the truth of it and until we get the type of output to which we are entitled. Members of the Oireachtas are asked to represent GAA people, emigrants and community groups in the UK.

I spoke with the Minister two hours ago who gave me leave to refer to his briefing documentation but I shall read first from a letter to the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, dated April 13 2008, which states: "It is not legal to broadcast power in excess of 62.5 kilowatts at night". The Minister's briefing document states that the licensed power for night-time operation is 100 kilowatts and that RTE is licensed to operate at that output during the night. Either the committee or the Minister is being told untruths.

This is factual material and I will not let this issue get away. We will have RTE back into the House to explain itself. The Minister's document informed the Minister and his advisors that RTE operates at night and in excess of the figure quoted. The committee was told that RTE broadcasts at 62.5 kilowatts. I do not know how other Members feel about this matter but it will not go away. RTE needs friends in this House and I am one of those who speaks for it all the time.

The briefing document also states, in the kind of weasel words that I hate, that the new system RTE has is far more efficient, that while the old system did not give a good signal the new one does, as well as being more efficient. It neglected to inform the Minister about something I know well, having studied it so much. The efficiency mentioned was that of power or energy. It was not efficiency of reception. The letterwriter did not bother to clarify that for the Minister. We are being misled on this issue and it is completely unacceptable.

I also wish to state what it would cost for RTE — if one can believe the organisation's own figures — to broadcast at its licensed output of 500 kilowatt for 24 hours a day. The cost per year would be the enormous sum of €108,000. That is what we are talking about here.

RTE took over Atlantic 252 which used to pump out pop music at 500 kilowatts, day and night, all over the UK and to northern Europe at a time when we could all receive it. Then it reduced the output and made fools of some of us. Before the GAA, in this House and in committee I defended RTE's decision to move to long wave on the basis that there would be better and clearer reception. It would have been so had RTE done the honest thing and broadcast at the licensed output of 500 kilowatts.

Why should we reduce ourselves to a mere 500 kilowatts in any case? We should be able to broadcast as far as Brussels at the very least. Our output should be receivable on long wave in that city and there is no reason why it should not be so. It is not long ago since I sat in my car in Cherbourg listening to RTE long wave coming in as clear as a bell under the previous transmitter. There is no reason why the range cannot be extended.

I could continue to talk at length about this issue and I have a mind to do exactly that. As a member of the Opposition and an Independent Senator, I do not feel any more strongly about this issue than my colleagues on the other side of the House. Anyone who has cared about the Irish community abroad and who knows of the lonely emigrants sitting in bedsits will know the broadcasting of GAA and other sports results in the afternoon is part of their community lifeline. Their cultural roots are reflected in the programmes of RTE, particularly at the weekends and at night. There are people who like to listen to "Céilí House" on Saturday night, to "Fáilte Isteach" with Donncha O'Dulaing and to programmes by others who broadcast at night. Sometimes the audiences for such programmes are larger in the United Kingdom than in Ireland. What is occurring cannot be allowed to continue.

A completely different reason it cannot be allowed to continue is that RTE transmitters are crucial in the event of a national emergency. According to our plans, RTE is supposed to be broadcasting at full output during any major national emergency. However, it has reduced its power output to below the legally agreed limit, that is, to 250 KW or 300 KW. That it has reduced its potential is unacceptable. It is telling us it is reducing it to 250 KW. It is not a step it can take at will and that is why I do not trust it to do what it is supposed to be doing. My amendment is to require RTE to pump out its signal at the licensed power output at the very least. I would like the Minister of State to say how it can increase this output. Who deals with this?

The main source of interference with RTE long wave reception at night is Radio Algérienne, which is probably broadcasting at approximately 2,000 KW, although its licence is based on the same international agreement as that of RTE, that is, the agreement of 1975. How long can we put up with this? It is not good enough.

I am not making these remarks with a view to criticising the Department. However, I am very critical of what is taking place, of the lack of information and of the difficulty in finding that information. We need to speak for those who cannot be present to speak for themselves on this issue. On that basis, I ask the Minister of State to accept the amendment.