Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Keaveney for raising this matter and affording me an opportunity to speak on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The Government's stated policy objective is to achieve the closure of Ireland's analogue terrestrial television network by the fourth quarter of 2012. The closure of the analogue television network is occurring worldwide. The worldwide deadline is mid-2015 and Europe has set 2012 as the European-wide deadline. The closure of the analogue television network frees up spectrum which can be used to develop new business initiatives. It is anticipated that the release of this spectrum could be worth in excess of €2 billion to Ireland over 15 years, and in these chastened economic times the Government wishes to ensure Ireland reaps the rewards of this spectrum at the earliest opportunity.

The analogue television network is operated and owned by RTE Network Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of RTE which transmits the television channels RTE 1, RTE 2, TV3 and TG4 for reception in households via rooftop or set-top aerial. This network is nearing obsolescence and is being replaced by a digital television network. The new RTE digital television service will provide space for the four national channels and additional public service channels. In the event of spare capacity, it can be used by RTE on a commercial basis to offer carriage to other commercial television channels.

Earlier this year, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources signed legislation requiring RTE to launch its digital television service to approximately 90% of the population by 31 October 2010. RTE has advised the Minister that it will achieve 92% population coverage from 24 sites throughout the country by then and that this service will initially include the existing four Irish channels. RTE has informed the Minister that it expects the full national digital television network to be in place by the end of 2011.

In the period from 31 October 2010 to the end of 2012, both digital and analogue TV services will operate together. This simulcast period, as it is called, of two years gives television households adequate time to upgrade to a digital television service while ensuring the cost of operating the two services is kept to a minimum. The analogue television services in Northern Ireland are also due to be switched off at the end of 2012 so, in parallel with these developments, the memorandum of understanding, MoU, signed earlier this year between then UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Mr. Ben Bradshaw MP, and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, will facilitate co-ordination with Northern Ireland of the roll-out of digital terrestrial television, DTT, and the analogue switch-off. The Good Friday Agreement and St. Andrews Agreement recognise the importance of the unique cultural and linguistic diversities that exist on the island of Ireland, and this MoU helps to promote and protect those diversities.

This MoU marked the culmination of a very successful period of co-operation on broadcasting issues between the Governments of Ireland and the UK and its benefits will be manifold. It provides for co-operation between the Irish and UK Governments to ensure, inter alia, North-South co-ordination in the digital switchover public information campaign. This will help to minimise confusion in Border areas as the analogue switch-off date approaches. The MoU also provides for the carriage of TG4 on Northern Ireland's DTT platform and facilitates the possibility of RTE being transmitted over DTT in the North and for BBC to be carried in the South.

While many viewers in Ireland and Northern Ireland watch the other country's free-to-air TV channels through overspill, perhaps most significantly the MoU allows the possibility of broadcasting RTE on an all-island basis for the first time in the history of the State. While the BBC has not engaged in the process for the delivery of free-to-air BBC services throughout Ireland and has no legislative remit to offer a service to the island of Ireland, both RTE and TG4 are fully engaged.

Officials from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the communications regulators in Ireland and the UK, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, RTE, RTE Network Limited, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Northern Ireland Office have been meeting over recent months to agree arrangements for the carriage of RTE and TG4 in Northern Ireland. These meetings have mainly concentrated on technical issues, spectrum planning issues, regulatory matters and the cost of carriage for TG4 and RTE on the Northern Ireland digital television network. These discussions are ongoing but much progress has been made and there is significant buy-in from all relevant stakeholders, including RTE, RTENL, Arqiva, which owns the television transmitter sites in Northern Ireland, and the UK regulatory body, Ofcom.

In regard to analogue switch-off in the fourth quarter of 2012, as the Senator can appreciate, the technical and spectrum planning aspects of the analogue switch-off require in-depth discussion and technical considerations of transmission, both North and South. These discussions are ongoing but all parties are keenly aware of the timelines and are working together to ensure a co-ordinated analogue switchover process which will provide a clear roadmap to secure a smooth analogue switch-off process for Irish citizens in Border counties.