Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire.

At considerable length and for a number of weeks, the House debated the establishment of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland when the Broadcasting Act was passed in 2009. We agreed that having a single broadcasting regulatory body was a positive development and necessary to preserve democratic values, ensure an open, pluralist broadcasting service, monitor standards, grant licences, ensure compliance and issue fines, as required. Sensitive political and social issues needed to be dealt with and balance had to be preserved. Important issues arose during the debate. A novel and progressive aspect of the authority which we welcomed at the time and which I still welcome is that four members of its board are appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

The entire Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the implementation of its remit were called into question in recent months as it set about putting its budget in place. This brought the authority under the microscope again. That the board would fund its operations from revenue raised from the service-provider sector, so to speak, the local radio stations, RTE and TG4, makes eminent sense. The difficulty arises in setting the level of funding required. The authority planned to increase its budget this year by 27%, from €6 million to €7.6 million. However, the vigilance of the joint committee, in particular that of Deputies Coveney and McManus, brought this to a halt. This contemplation of an unreasonable budget was at a time when advertising revenues were down by 30% with competition rife in the radio sector. With such a shrinking of resources, the proposal to increase the authority's budget was unacceptable. Jobs were at issue. The only way local radio stations could meet the proposed broadcasting levy was through job losses.

Since it was established in the 1980s, local and community radio has done wonders for the country, brought immense happiness and personal pleasure to the people and empowered local communities and individuals. It is a much appreciated service with which many people identify. Any threat to it from prohibitive levies and unnecessary charges is not to be welcomed. Local radio stations provide an important social, local cultural and vital news and information service. They improve people's quality of life, especially those who live in isolated areas, and help knit communities together. They do so much good that it is reprehensible that anything could be contemplated that would risk this. The vigilance of the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, particularly of Deputies Simon Coveney and Liz McManus, was critical to the preservation of local radio stations and the independent broadcasting sector.

Under the proposed levy an average local radio station would have faced a bill of between €50,000 to €100,000. After a halt was called, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland revised its annual budget downwards to €6 million with the levy coming to €5.7 million. There still needs to be strict accountability and close monitoring of its budget. The levy will mean a flat fee on community radio stations of €750 which may have a small listenership base. From the initial proposed budget it was possible to save €100,000 on communications, advertising, publications and public relations consultants. In policy and compliance, it was possible to save €770,000 while another €800,000 was saved in the general administrative area. It is interesting to see what was possible to save in a short time without a diminution in the authority's regulatory and promotional function. The authority will continue to ensure high standards and the development of the broadcasting services while having proper accountability and financial management.

It is incumbent on the authority to produce a three-year budgetary strategy and plan beginning this September. It will need to be carefully scrutinised by the Oireachtas to ensure value for money is achieved, an essential requirement of all Government agencies irrespective of their merits. The private sector, low-paid taxpayers and those accepting big hits in their wages must be able to see State agencies achieve value for money and operate on the most minimal budgets they possibly can.

Fine Gael's Deputy Leo Varadkar has introduced a Private Members' Bill, the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2010, which, based on the requirements of the private sector and consumers' needs, would provide for a 5% reduction in a wide range of Government charges from television licences to passports to accident and emergency department charges.