I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £57,063 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 1946, for Salaries and other Expenses in connection with Wireless Broadcasting (No. 45 of 1926), including Public Concerts.
The Estimate for the broadcasting service for the current financial year 1945/46 is £85,663, an increase of £4,970 on the provision for last year. The main increases are under sub-heads A and F which are up by £2,890 and £1,585 respectively. The increase under sub-head A is due mainly to the definitive transfer of certain officers to the broadcasting service whose salaries were formerly borne on the Vote for their parent Departments as they were only on loan to broadcasting; to increased bonus payments and additions to the staff. Under sub-head F an additional sum is provided for engineering equipment of which it is expected that it will be possible to obtain supplies this year. An increase of £400 under sub-head B is due mainly to increased payments of performing right fees. Variations under the other sub-heads are of a minor nature.
Revenue from wireless licences for the financial year ended 31st March last amounted to approximately £107,000 and from advertisements to approximately £3,700—a total of £110,700. This represents a decrease of about £600 on the revenue for the previous year, due mainly to a slight falling off in the number of licences held by listeners.
I estimate that revenue for the current year will be £110,200. The total expenditure, including expenditure by other Departments on services rendered to broadcasting, is estimated at £114,038. There is, therefore, a small estimated deficit of £3,838.
The total number of licences current on 31st March, 1945, was 170,514, which represents a decrease of 1,528 on the figure for the corresponding date in 1944. With the prospect that more plentiful supplies of batteries and, possibly, wireless sets and parts will become available this year it is likely that the number of licences will shortly be again on the upgrade.
The Broadcasting Advisory Committee, which was reconstituted early in 1944 has given very valuable assistance and advice in regard to the many questions which have come before it and I am indebted to the members for the great interest they have shown in the work of the committee and the time they have devoted to it.
I am glad to say that the Radio Éireann Orchestra, which is the mainstay of our musical programmes, continues to win high approval for its performance of a very wide range of musical works. The public symphony concerts are proving more popular than ever. Some years ago, when the concerts were first contemplated, it was believed that an audience of about 600 people was the most that could be expected. Now we have reached the stage where we have an attendance of 1,800 people at most of the concerts. This continuing and growing interest in symphonic music shows that public taste is on a much higher level than many would have had us believe. To the conductor and orchestra is due a special tribute for the excellence of their performances which has made the concerts so successful.
The Radio Éireann Choir of 24 singers, which was established in 1943, is making steady progress and extending its repertoire. A programme of songs in Irish and English was given monthly last year, and the choir collaborated with the orchestra in a notable performance of the "Mozart Twelfth Mass".
Radio Éireann is, as heretofore, doing a great deal to assist and encourage musical organisations outside Dublin and throughout the country. Where a committee is willing to organise a first-class concert and to engage the best artists available Radio Éireann relays portion of the concert at a specially high fee. In this way the public in towns outside Dublin are enabled to hear excellent concerts which otherwise could not be provided.
Special attention is being given to the fostering of Irish music and composers are commissioned to prepare arrangements of traditional Irish airs, etc.
The more important concerts given in the country during the year were relayed and we hope to continue and extend this practice.
Our running commentaries on football, hurling, racing and other sports have been continued as usual and have a very large and wide popularity. The director has been keeping in close touch with the controlling authorities of the Gaelic Athletic Association, of racing and of sports generally, and we hope in the future to be able to arrange for an increase in the number of these broadcasts.
Our news department has for some time past been at a disadvantage owing to vacancies occurring on the reporting staff which we have not yet found it possible to fill. A complete reorganisation of our news staff has recently been approved and the Civil Service Commission is making arrangements for the filling of the approved posts. It is expected that the new staffing arrangements will be completed at an early date.
As regards the Irish language, our policy prior to last year had been to put before listeners programmes in Irish as interesting and as well produced as the programmes in English —but not to broadcast formal lessons. For listeners whose Irish was not fluent, special features, including short stories in simple Irish, were provided, and a weekly programme entitled "Is Your Irish Rusty?" continues to cater for this class. It consists of the slow reading and translation of passages from short stories and sketches from a set book, an explanation being given of difficult words and phrases.
During last year much thought was given to the question of making the utmost possible use of radio in the drive for the revival of Irish. Representatives of most of the bodies directly concerned with the movement had frequent consultations with the Director and staff of Radio Éireann and, after full discussion by the Broadcasting Advisory Committee, it was decided to broadcast a series of direct lessons for beginners or for those with little knowledge of Irish. The teaching of a language by radio is, of course, no easy task and in preparation for this particular series, the Broadcasting Advisory Committee and the Department of Education collaborated with the station in determining the form of the instruction. The lessons called "Listen and Learn" began on Friday, 2nd March, 1945, and have been an outstanding success from the outset. We have evidence that they are being listened to with close attention all over the country by all classes of people and are, indeed, competing with "Question Time" for the position of the most popular programme from Radio Éireann. I am confident that the lessons will greatly assist many people to learn Irish who, for one reason or another, had not had an opportunity of doing so and were reluctant to attend formal classes. I might repeat, however, that the teaching or the learning of a language over the radio is a most difficult task and suggest that, where classes are available, listeners should supplement the broadcast lessons by attending them.
The principal regular features of Radio Éireann—"Question Time,""Information Please,""Radio Digest," and "Round the Fire"—continue to earn wide approval. Among programmes in Irish, "An Treimhseachan Teann," which is the counterpart of the "Radio Digest", is specially popular, while the recently started "Ceist agam ort," a programme resembling "Information Please," appears to be going very well.
The plays broadcast in 1944 included works by representative Irish dramatists as well as some by foreign authors. The Abbey and Longford Players again presented a number of plays on Sunday evenings which were much appreciated by listeners. There were numerous dramatisations of the lives of outstanding figures in Irish history including Edmund Ignatius Rice, Patrick Pearse, Jonathan Swift and one to mark the third centenary of The Four Masters.
In introducing the Broadcasting Estimate last year I remarked on the number of helpful letters received by the Director of Broadcasting from listeners who had constructive criticism and suggestions to offer. The number of such letters is growing and they are of great assistance to the Director and Programme Officers in assessing public interest in various types of programmes. The director welcomes such letters and every criticism and suggestion put forward in them receives careful consideration.
It is obviously impossible to discuss programme features here in any detail and I would ask Deputies, therefore, with a view to a constructive debate, to confine their remarks, so far as possible, to the broad principles which Radio Éireann is following.