The amount of the Estimate for the Broadcasting Service for the year 1933-34 is £43,530 as compared with £60,310 for 1932-33, that is a decrease of £16,780 due to the cost of the high power station having been almost cleared last year. The original estimate of cost of erection of the high power station including buildings was £70,000 and the actual cost will probably be slightly less. The revenue from wireless receiving licences last year amounted to approximately £17,296; from customs tax on wireless apparatus to about £64,682 (including about £12,000 for customs duty on plant for high power station). The revenue from advertisements and miscellaneous receipts amounted to about £220, making gross revenue of £82,918. The revenue for the current year is estimated at £20,000 from licences, £50,000 from customs duty and £18,000 from advertising programmes, making an estimated total of £88,000. The number of wireless receiving licences issued last year was 33,083 representing an increase of 4,438 over the previous year. The probable increase of licences as a result of the opening of the high power station in February last cannot yet be estimated with any degree of accuracy but in any case the growth of licences up to probable saturation point is likely to continue for several years. The expenditure on the broadcasting service out of all Votes last year amounted to about £87,945, including £46,100 for the high power station. This leaves an estimated deficit on the year's working of about £5,747 due entirely to the expenditure on the high power station. The expenditure on the broadcasting service out of all Votes in the current year is estimated at £55,000.
The outstanding events of the programmes last year were the broadcast of the Eucharistic Congress which included a world-wide transmission of the closing ceremony in the Phoenix Park and the broadcasting of an address by His Holiness the Pope. Other events of particular importance included President de Valera's address at the official opening of the High Power Station on 7th February last and also the President's address at the opening of the League of Nations Assembly. The evening programme hours have been extended to run from 6.0 p.m. to 11.0 p.m. on week-days, one hour, 9.45 p.m. 10.45 p.m., being reserved for advertising programmes. One hour's afternoon programme on Sundays has also been introduced and proposals are under consideration to extend this to two hours and also to extend the mid-day programme on week-days to an hour. The orchestra of the Dublin Station was recently increased from 6 to 19 players, which has considerably strengthened the programme generally. The all-round standard of programmes has been well maintained. Six concerts were given by the Symphony Orchestra of the Dublin Station and five concerts of the Dublin Philharmonic Society were broadcast. The station opera company performed a number of operas and there were also relays of concerts from Waterford, Galway, Sligo and other provincial centres. The "Talks" programmes have been considerably developed and included during the year series of talks on Irish history, Irish music, art, natural history, domestic economy and a special series of talks for farmers arranged by the Department of Agriculture. Special attention is being given to the Irish part of the programme with a view to the extension of the use of the Irish language in the programmes generally. In addition to the Irish lessons talks in Irish on general subjects are given regularly and Irish traditional music is given a prominent place on the programme.
