Seanad debates
Tuesday, 10 June 2003
Adjournment Matters. - Broadcasting Commission of Ireland.
2:30 pm
Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing this matter for the Adjournment.
The decision by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland on 29 April last to withdraw the broadcasting licence of North West Radio came as a bombshell to the station management, the shareholders and to its excellent staff. Above all, it came as a thunderbolt to the hundred of thousands of loyal listeners in counties Sligo, Donegal and Leitrim who, daily, have tuned into station for the last 13 years. The decision quite frankly stinks.
The injustices of it is put clearly into perspective when one considers that on the very day the BCI announced that it was not renewing the North West Radio licence, the station achieved a 68% listenership rating from the JNLR. This figure was no temporary blip or aberration. For the past 13 years, NWR has had consistently high listenership ratings. It has been invariably rated by the public as the most second most successful station in the entire country.
The way the decision was made is open to major question. There are ten members on the BCI, but only six were present for the deliberations on the vote. A 60% attendance for such a crucial decision is insufficient and indefensible. Three members voted for NWR and three for the rival consortium Ocean FM. It took the casting vote – in other words, a second vote – by the chairman, Mr. Conor Maguire, to carry the day for Ocean FM.
Those who voted against North West Radio also disregarded the presentation made to the commission by the BCI chief executive. The chief executive could not be more positive or complimentary to NWR. The shareholders and directors, he said, had remained largely the same. The management of the station by Tommy Marron and Mary Daly had been successful. Staffing levels were satisfactory and salaries were average for the business. The JNLR figures underlined the fact that the programme mix had been successful and balanced and he emphasised the commitment to drama and writing. Transmission and coverage was good.
There was only one negative feature, the lack of disabled access. This had been addressed by NWR in its presentation to the commission. Just as is happening in Ballyhaunis with its sister station, Mid West Radio, a new state-of-the-art studio was to be built. The station had already opened a new wheelchair accessible state-of-the-art studio in Donegal town.
In spite of its superb track record, its high listenership rating and the glowing analysis by the BCI's chief executive, the commission awarded the licence to a new consortium with absolutely no broadcasting experience. In its report, the justification of the commission could not have been more flimsy, more ridiculous or trumped up. It questioned the issue of shared broadcasting. However, for 13 years, neither the BCI nor its predecessor, the Independent Radio and Television Commission, raised this issue with North West Radio management. The listenership figures proved conclusively that joint programming is successful. How does this fit with the joint programming of Shannonside FM and Northern Sound radio and the two Cork stations owned by County Media?
The whole thing is a sham. It is clear that merit, experience, track record and popularity count for nothing. It is patently obvious that political forces were at play. This is not the first weird or questionable decision by the BCI. Equally unfathomable were the decisions made in relation to the award of licences in counties Tipperary and Kilkenny but the NWR decision is the most unfair and bizarre of the lot.
I welcome the decision by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Dermot Ahern, toexamine the role and composition of the BCI. It is farcical that a commission composed of people with absolutely no broadcasting experience should have the power to award valuable, commercial broadcasting licences. I welcome the commitment by the Minister to review the method of awarding commercial licences by the BCI but it is too late for North West Radio, or is it? Does the Minister have any power vested in him under the Radio and Television Act 1988 to put a stay on the award of a licence? Does he have the power to revoke a BCI decision where the decision made is patently unjustified and unjustifiable? If he has such power, he should use it to right what is an utter travesty.
Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising his understandable concerns about North West Radio on the Adjournment. The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources would like to clarify that the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland has statutory responsibility for licensing local radio services. The commission, as provided for by this House, is an independent statutory body and the Minister has no role in relation to individual licensing decisions.
I would like to address a specific question asked by the Senator as to whether the Minister has the power to put a stay on an individual licensing decision of the independent regulator. The answer to that question is clear: on the advice available to him, the Minister has no such power. If he had, the regulator could not be considered independent.
The Houses of the Oireachtas have provided that decisions on licensing should be taken by an independent regulator, not by Ministers. Were a Minister to interfere in the licensing process there would be uproar. It would make no sense to establish an independent regulator and then call upon the Minister to intervene if one was not satisfied with the decision taken by the regulator.
The licensing of local radio services is a sensitive matter. As the Senator pointed out, it is a matter involving considerable commercial implications. This is especially the case where a local radio station fails to have a licence renewed, as occurred recently in a number of cases, in most of which the existing local radio stations took part in a competition for a new licence but were unsuccessful. The only reasonable interpretation of what happened is that the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland took a view that the successful applicants best met the criteria for the award of the new licences. This does not mean that the unsuccessful applicants would not have provided a high quality service. It means that the commission took a view that the successful applicant would provide a better service. It is important that sight is not lost of the fact that local radio is primarily about the audience.
The only way to avoid hard decisions and controversy would be to grant licences in perpetuity and never redefine franchise areas. While licence holders might welcome this, it would not be in the public interest. It follows that there will inevitably be cases where licensees which have provided a high quality service will still lose out in a competition for a new licence.
The Minister recently announced that he was to initiate a review of the local radio licensing regime. He confirmed that the findings in the recent report on licensing by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources would inform his considerations. He explained that with the forthcoming establishment of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the conclusion of the current round of licensing, it was an opportune time to conduct a review which will be open to all interested parties and involve wide public consultation. The Minister has signalled that he is specifically ruling out the possibility of any increased ministerial or political involvement in the licensing process.
The Minister has indicated that the issues he wishes to consider include the following: whether there is a need for an appeals mechanism to deal with licensing decisions taken by the independent regulator; whether the costs of applying for a licence can be reduced without impairing the effectiveness of the process; and the need to ensure the independent regulator is seen to be fully accountable and objective in its decisions. The Minister will outline the specific details of the review in due course and give all those interested an adequate opportunity to have their say.
Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister of State have information to hand as to when it is anticipated the review will be completed?
Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I regret I do not have that information to hand.
Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State might convey it to me in due course.
Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I will. I will ask the Minister about it.
The Seanad adjourned at 7.25 p.m. until 10.30a.m. on Wednesday, 11 June 2003.