John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Naughten. Thousands of people are visually impaired, blind, deaf and hard of hearing, and they are part of the public to be served. The Minister stated that he believes Irish audiences need and value strong, independent public service media. I absolutely agree with him. However, taking into account the Government's intention to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the public duty, people with hearing or visual impairment are also members of the public to be equally served. It is not just the person who is blind or deaf. It is also their families. Sometimes I watch "Gogglebox" and the enjoyment families get from watching television together is fascinating.

The targets set by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland for both Irish sign language and audio description for the respective cohorts in the Irish television service are embarrassingly small. This year, RTE One and RTE 2 have a target of 2.25% for Irish sign language while RTEjr has a target of 1.25%. That will increase next year by 0.25%, but it is still extremely modest. Percentage wise, audio description targets for RTE One and RTE 2 are the same as those for Irish sign language, but RTEjr has a higher target of 4% this year, and it will be 5% next year. The same increases are projected for audio description broadcasts. There appears to be no requirement for TV3, be3 or 3e to provide either Irish sign language or audio description services for deaf and visually impaired communities.

I have three questions for the Minister. First, can he advise the House as to the reason the targets for Irish sign language and audio description broadcasts are so low? Second, can he advise as to whether the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has any plans to require the TV3 suite of channels to commence audio description broadcasts? I understand that some of the soaps it broadcasts already have that facility when broadcast in the United Kingdom.

Third, I ask that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland would direct television broadcasters to instruct continuity announcers and teams to advise people when a programme has an audio description facility built into it. It would take five or six seconds to do, but it would be a practical way to assist people.

I look forward to the Minister's Department making substantial progress on these issues in the next year. I hope he would have an eye to the budget regarding that matter.