Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 305: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the extent to which RTE radio and television service extends to Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom; if he has sought or given any direction in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34953/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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RTE's mandate to provide radio and television services is defined in section 28(1) of the Broadcasting Act 2001. This Act states that the national television and sound broadcasting services required to be maintained by RTE shall have the character of a public service, continue to be a free-to-air service and be made available, in so far as is reasonably practicable, to the entire community on the island of Ireland.

In July, I officially launched a new service whereby TG4 would be broadcast in the Belfast area, which has the effect of making TG4 available to more than 90% of the population in Northern Ireland. The provision of this service for Belfast followed on from the Good Friday Agreement under which it was agreed to explore urgently the scope for achieving more widespread availability of TG4 in Northern Ireland.

While RTE's mandate does not extend to making its services available to Irish communities living abroad, RTE has acted in a number of ways that has resulted in its radio or television services being more widely accessible: for example, RTE's long wave and medium wave radio services are available throughout much of the UK and parts of Europe. All of RTE's radio services along with some of its television schedules can also be accessed on-line.