Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom ábhar a ardú atá luaite agam roinnt mhaith uaireanta roimhe seo sa Seanad.

I want to raise an issue and use the Seanad as a platform to give some focus to its resolution. I accept we are limited in what we can do because I have sought to have the Minister in to speak on this issue previously but he says it is not his kick. It relates to the geo-blocking of sports programmes by satellite television providers, meaning RTÉ is blocked for viewers resident in the Six Counties. We used to be able to get RTÉ in the North by shifting our analogue aerials a certain way or adding on a box. This meant we could feel a degree of connection with news, events, sports and everything else happening across the rest of the island.

With the ending of analogue TV, satellite is the only option for us to get RTÉ. This is complex in that it involves negotiating licensing agreements and broadcasting rights. For a long time, RTÉ, Sky, Virgin and other providers acknowledged this was a problem. However, it made the front page of yesterday’s Irish Newsbecause of the sheer frustration the issue is causing This was an acknowledgment of the latest incident, namely the blocking of live coverage of "The Sunday Game" on RTÉ for viewers in the North.

It is a complex issue. However, at the heart of it, there has to be an acceptance and an acknowledgement by sporting organisations, such as the GAA and the FAI, that when they sell the rights to broadcast, arrangements are made for a bespoke set of circumstances which will allow someone in the Creggan to watch James McClean do the business for Ireland on the international stage rather than having to watch a blank screen stating the programme is not available in the country. RTÉ’s charter states it will provide services to have the character of a public service universally available to the whole community on the island of Ireland. That is currently not the case, however.

I accept we are limited in what we can do in that regard because, primarily, it is a private enterprise and exercise. However, borders has been the word of contention over the past 18 months to two years. There should be no digital partition of Ireland and no digital border. Whether it is our boxing, soccer or GAA heroes, we should have the universal ability to watch, follow and feel connected to their achievements.