Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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581. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he is aware of the concerns about the geoblocking of BBC Sounds that includes Radio Ulster for listeners in this State considering that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the British Secretary of State for Culture and the Minister for Communications in February 2010 which provided for the widespread availability of BBC services in this State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17001/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the decision to limit access to the BBC Sounds app to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.

While this is an operational matter for the BBC, the BBC have stated that a new service will be made available on the BBC website, tailored to non UK audiences. They have also advised that access to BBC podcasts will also be available on third party apps internationally.

There is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Ireland and the United Kingdom, signed in 2010, regarding the digital switchover and the provision of digital television services in Northern Ireland and Ireland. While the primary purpose of this MOU was to ensure a smooth transition to digital terrestrial television (DTT) on the island as a whole, it also refers more generally to cooperation on the availability of public service broadcasting on the island. Although BBC Sounds is a non-linear service which is technically outside the scope of DTT services, I have asked my officials to engage with their UK counterparts on this matter.