Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his proposals to provide more broadcasting time for Irish music or dance artists in the context of the Broadcasting Bill; if he has received submissions requesting an increase in air or broadcasting time for indigenously produced performances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35491/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The priority issues to be addressed by the legislative proposals that will form the basis of a new Broadcasting Bill are as follows: the establishment of a single content regulator for commercial, community and public service broadcasters; the establishment of RTE as a company under the Companies Acts 1963 to 2003; the provision of a statutory mechanism for future adjustments to the level of the television licence fee; and the development of the right of reply mechanism, allowing persons whose reputation and good name have been damaged by an assertion of incorrect facts in a television or radio programme to gain redress.

My intention in framing the legislative proposals will be to ensure that the broadcasting regulatory environment continues to encourage the development of high quality broadcasting that best serves the interests of the Irish viewer and listener.

Existing broadcasting legislation provides that RTE is an independent statutory corporation, and that decisions in relation to programming are a matter for RTE itself. Legislation also provides that the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, an independent statutory body, has responsibility for licensing radio services additional to those provided by RTE. It is a matter for the commission to determine the range and nature of the services to be licensed at any given time.

As a consequence under existing legislation I have no function in relation to programming matters for public service, commercial and community broadcasters. I have no plans to alter this position in the context of the Broadcasting Bill.