I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £169,000 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1954, for Salaries and other Expenses in connection with Wireless Broadcasting (No. 45 of 1926), including Public Concerts.
Deputies will have observed from the published Book of Estimates that the Wireless Broadcasting Estimate is presented this year in a form considerably different from what it was last year and in previous years. Before I deal with the amount provided in it, I should like to give the House the reasons for the change in the form. In speaking on a Supplementary Estimate for Wireless Broadcasting in November, 1952, I explained that a fundamental change was being made in the broadcasting organisation from the 1st January, 1953, by the appointment of a comhairle of five persons who would advise the Minister and take the executive responsibility for broadcasting that had been exercised up to then by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs. I found that all Parties in the House were enthusiastic about removing broadcasting from the position of a sub-Department of the Post Office operated on strictly Civil Service lines.
The only criticism that was made was that we were not going far enough, and that it would be better to establish an independent corporation on the lines of the B.B.C. The Government did not favour making such a drastic change, at least in one step, but I was gratified that the House was so fully on my side in my proposal to get away from the type of control of broadcasting and operation that had been in existence here since 1926. I stated also then that, as part of the reorganisation, Iproposed, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance and the Government, to simplify broadcasting financial procedure, and I indicated that with that object in view consideration was being given to the form of the Estimate to bring it more in line with the kind of financial statement put before Parliaments in countries where broadcasting was operated by statutory corporations. That is the reason for reducing the number of sub-heads from 11 to three and omitting many of the details that had hitherto been given.
Control of the expenditure has not been lessened in any way by reason of the new format, and auditors and the Public Accounts Committee can exercise the closest check on every item of broadcasting expenditure. Not a penny can be spent unless it is strictly on the business of broadcasting within the ambit of the legislation which governs the establishment and running of the service. I should mention that the Public Accounts Committee was consulted in regard to the new form of the Estimate, as we wished to be very careful that it would have the approval of the committee on behalf of the Dáil. Having regard to the enthusiasm expressed in the House in November last for an independent type of broadcasting organisation, I have no doubt that Deputies will fully approve of the simplification of the Estimate.
Concurrently with the change in the form of the Estimate the Minister for Finance gave the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs wide general sanctions in regard to broadcasting expenditure without prescribing overriding limits in various categories except as regards staff. The Minister for Finance has certain legal responsibilities in regard to Civil Service staffing, but here again he has allowed as much latitude to broadcasting as his statutory liabilities permit.
Under the new reorganisation the comhairle will know in advance the order of the sum it will have at its disposal for some time to come. This was a most desirable innovation. The arrangement approved by the Government is that for its day-to-day operations the broadcasting service will get an amount equal to the total of thelicence and sponsored programme receipts. The receipts estimated from these two sources for 1953-54 are £429,000 as will be seen from the second page of the Estimate. The sum it is proposed to provide, under the "Expenses of Broadcasting" is £432,000. The difference of £3,000 between the two sums represents the cost of some staff engaged on the administrative work of broadcasting in the secretary's office of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs who were transfered to Radio Éireann from the 1st January, 1953, as a first step in the amalgamation of the broadcasting organisation into a single unit.
The licence and sponsored programme fees will not cover the cost of any large equipment required in the way of engineering apparatus or musical instruments, and the provision for equipment will continue in effect to be a subsidy. The subsidy is shown under sub-head B. It amounts this year to £145,000. This exceptionally large sum is due to the inclusion of the cost of three transmitters—one to replace the powerful 100 Kw. transmitter at Athlone, which is now absolete, and two to replace the worn-out transmitters at Dublin and Cork. The transmitters account for £115,000 of the total sum.
In addition to the sum provided in the Broadcasting Vote itself, a number of other Departments have always done work for broadcasting and have borne the cost on their own Votes. A list of these Departments, with the amounts they estimate to expend on broadcasting work during the current year, is shown on page two of the Estimate. This expenditure will also continue to be provided, as in the past, as a subsidy for broadcasting. The Department which incurs the largest expenditure under this heading is, of course, the Post Office, which collects the licence fees throughout the country at the post offices and carries out inspections in connection with the taking out of the licences. The cost of buildings and reconstruction will continue to be borne on the Vote for Public Works and Buildings.
The salaries of the comhairle and of the principal officers of the broadcastingstation are shown in Part III of the Estimate, but the cost of the other staff is shown in a bulk sum.
Before I report further on progress, may I report again the objectives we seek in Radio Éireann so difficult to achieve in a single programme?
The primary purpose of Radio Éireann is to provide entertainment in an Irish setting to suit every taste to be found in our community; from our own and foreign dance music to classical compositions; from Irish and universal variety shows to debates in Irish and English on Irish and universal themes; from traditional music and songs from the four provinces of Ireland in Irish and English to operas and songs in every language from abroad.
As in the case of all good broadcasting institutions abroad, the programme is weighted to provide palatable, cultural entertainment, with an emphasis on our own creative and traditional culture and possibly of a somewhat higher standard than we would expect to be asked for by purely "popular" demand. As I said before I know that light music would head the list here as in other places in the collated results of any listener research investigation.
The object of any good radio service should be to intermingle light programmes with more serious items requiring a greater degree of concentration in such a manner that, at least a good proportion of listeners will leave the radio on before the lighter item commences and after it terminates and can, we hope, be induced to enjoy a varied programme. The quality of the more serious items must be of the very highest to achieve this result.
The House will be interested in hearing something about the programme developments that have taken place since January 1st. In a broadcasting station big changes are not made every day and every month.
Improvement is brought about more gradually by numerous small changes and by persistent attention to the raising of the quality of the programmes. Under the comhairle, however, a number of fairly important changes have been carried out.
One of the first things the comhairle authorised was the addition of some expert staff for the better handling of programmes where there was a severe lack of such qualified manpower. A talks producer, sports officer, head of scriptwriters, a second assistant music director and extra news staff have been employed. We have also more recently added an assistant conductor and a new full-time choir of ten singers. For the better technical balance of the output from the studios, a number of balance and control officers have been engaged.
In accordance with the desire of the Government, the comhairle has also tackled the amalgamation of broadcasting in a single administrative unit. The administrative, accounting and other work was, until the reorganisation was brought into effect, carried out in the various branches of the Post Office. Completely new administrative and accounting sections have now been set up in the broadcasting station. The question of the integration and transfer to station control of the engineering personnel, which is still, and always has been, under the control of the Post Office engineer-in-chief, is at present being examined. There has been a reorganisation of some of the programme departments within the station so that programmes in English and Irish can be prepared to greater advantage.
The House may now be interested if I refer briefly to a number of programme developments, some of them small and others more substantial, but all of which have, I believe, tended to raise quality and to give better finish to the Radio Éireann output.
As regards the news, a small change that will, I am sure, remove irritation, is that the bulletins now begin and end at even times, that is, at the hours, half-hours or quarter-hours—all the other programmes of a more or less permanent nature are also started at regular times and on fixed days of the week. Announcements of examinations and such matters have been cut out of the time devoted to the news. It is generally recognised that it is goodradio practice that news bulletins should not be long—not more than a quarter of an hour—but the time should be devoted to news and not to all sorts of small notifications.
These are provided for in a separate ten minutes period every day. Brief items of local news from all over the country have been introduced into the bulletins and a large organisation of local correspondents has been built up to supply these items. Topical talks are given after the 1.30 p.m. bulletin. Detailed weather forecasts for farmers and fishermen, which have often been asked for in the House, are now broadcast. Prices are also reported for the Dublin fish market in the same way as the cattle market prices have been given for a long time.
Last year a special feature was introduced to cover the week in the Oireachtas, which has now been followed up by a nightly report at 11 p.m. on each night on which the Dáil sits. This is in the hands of capable journalists who have been brought on to the staff of Radio Éireann.
In talks and discussion programmes, teams have continued to discuss a wide variety of matter of current interest. I am glad to say that these virile arguments on subjects which are for the most part controversial are now accepted as it was intended they should be—not as Government pronouncements from a State broadcasting station, but as the free expression of opinion by persons selected solely for their competence to bring out the points for and against proposals that are of general and sometimes vital interest to the public. In the discussions criticism is often made of State Departments, of some sections of the community, and of the Government itself. Such criticism, I am glad to say, is generally accepted as reflecting the many points of view that exist on matters that affect the lives of the people.
In connection with the Budget this year, talks were broadcast by the Minister for Finance and the representatives of the Fine Gael Party and Labour Party. We would have liked to be able to include talks by representativesof the other Parties but from the point of view of broadcasting interest the number had to be limited. Probably next year it might be possible by arrangements among the Parties to give an opportunity to the small Parties to have their voices heard. A series of talks by representatives of the Parties at a suitable time of the year would be of great interest for listeners; so would a number of talks immediately before a general election. The broadcasting authorities would be pleased to give facilities to the Parties for such series of talks if there is general support among the Parties for them.
We have recently had series of talks on world affairs, both in English and in Irish, by well-known speakers competent in their subject, and these are continuing. We have planned also a comprehensive series of lectures reflecting the best in contemporary Irish scholarship. This series, entitled the Thomas Davis lectures, began in September with six talks on early Irish society, given by Dr. Myles Dillon and other experts from the Institute of Advanced Studies. "Question Time" the old favourite, is back again, with many additions to test the knowledge of young and old. A new weekly programme, "What's on your Mind?" is touring the country bringing discussions by local speakers and local audiences of whatever topics they care to raise. It recently had a session in London.
Talks in Irish are now given before broadcasts of big matches—Gaelic football, Hurling, Rugby football, and Soccer. A new magazine programme for women, "Between Ourselves" and a new magazine programme for country listeners, "Country Journal," are being broadcast weekly. Variety programmes such as "Beginners Please" and "The Real Blarney" have come from Cork, Waterford and Limerick. In recognition of the popular taste for Irish dance music, a new one-hour céilí programme of music, story and song has been started under the title "Take the Floor."
On the drama side arrangements were made to bring guest producersand actors from abroad and some of them have already come and done work for us. For example we had Mr. Peter Watts, B.B.C. producer to direct three plays in July. The casts included well-known British radio stars, as well as Hilton Edwards and Ronald Ibbs. Denis Johnston, the distinguished Irish writer now working in America, produced a new version of "The Dreaming Dust", his play about Dean Swift, in August. W.R. Rodgers, the Ulster poet who is well known in radio through his work with the B.B.C., is writing a programme for production this year. Siobhán McKenna has broadcast for us in her own version of St. Joan in Irish and is to perform it also in English. The Arts Theatre, Belfast, has also done a production for Radio Éireann. Competitions for drama have been held and the writing of original radio plays is having notable success. A number of other developments on the drama side have been planned.
I shall now make a short reference to the music side of the station's activities. As before, the Symphony Orchestra has given twice weekly concerts in the Phoenix Hall under guest conductors and with soloists from home and abroad and the orchestra has also taken part in operatic and other productions in conjunction with outside societies. The most notable venture in which the Radio Éireann Orchestra co-operated was in the season of the Dublin Grand Opera Society which brought to Dublin the Munich State Opera and an Italian company of singers. The orchestra has also continued the practice of giving provincial concerts. Because of its increasing commitments and of the primary duty of providing symphony music from the studios for the listeners it will probably be necessary to tighten up the arrangements for the visits of the orchestra to the country.
What the director has in mind is that instead of having concerts fixed in a haphazard way as applications are received from local musical societies the orchestra will be made available for a tour of perhaps a fortnight at a time to be selected by the broadcasting authorities. Opportunitywill be given to the local bodies as far as practicable to have concerts in their towns included in the tour. This will also apply to the light orchestra.
As I announced recently, Mr. Milan Horvat has been engaged for a three year's period as conductor of the orchestra. I look forward with great hope to the work Mr. Horvat will do here in the building up of the orchestra to enable it to take its place as a combination of international standard. As I mentioned earlier, we have also appointed a young Irish assistant conductor, Mr. Eimear Ó Broin. After taking his music degree in university college and attending the summer school of music held here under the auspices of the Department of Education, Mr. Ó Broin studied in the Paris Conservatoire where last year he won first place in the final examination in orchestral conducting in the foreign section. This competition was open to young conductors from all over the world and it was a high distinction for an Irishman to gain the premier award. Mr. Ó Broin subsequently studied the conducting of opera and ballet at the Munich State Opera. I am sure he will derive further great benefit from working under Milan Horvat here.
In connection with the symphony orchestra I wish to refer to the series of promenade concerts held in the Gaiety in the spring of this year, and the autumn series being given at present. We have audiences in Dublin for the more serious types of works by the masters but there is a still larger demand for works which are somewhat lighter. It was to satisfy that demand that the proms were arranged. They have been a huge success and every concert was played to a full house. By the way, prom is, of course, a borrowed title. If Deputies, or their friends, could give us a native title, preferably an Irish title, which would convey the meaning of the proms to the imagination, we would be grateful. We have been unable to find a title that would preserve the idea.
The light orchestra, under its conductor, Dermot O'Hara, is, I know, amost popular music combination. A special tribute was paid to it here by Deputy Corish on the occasion of the Supplementary Broadcasting Estimate. The orchestra continues to give concerts from the studio of light classical music, Irish dance music and Irish folk music, and it provides music for variety programmes. As in last year, it has given concerts throughout the country and these have generally been well attended. Lunch-time concerts of Irish music have been performed by the light orchestra for half an hour each Sunday from 1.0 to 1.30.
In connection with the performances of Irish music, I would like to mention specially the question of arrangements. It used to be said that all the Irish music that had been orchestrated could be play in half an hour. That was probably a slight exaggeration, but it is undoubtedly the case that there is a sad deficiency in the amount of such music available to keep the programmes of the light orchestra going throughout the year without monotonous repetition. Orchestration of Irish music calls for considerable skill and artistry. In addition to musical competence, the arranger needs to have the tradition of Irish music in his blood. There are a few outstanding exceptions of persons outside Ireland who can arrange Irish music, or perhaps the music of any nation, but as a general rule the arrangements could be done better by an Irishman if he had the requisite skill.
I am glad to say that the position about arrangements has improved very considerably recently. A number of Irish musicians, including Réamonn Friel, A.J. Potter, Walter Beckett and Éamonn Ó Gallchobhair, are devoting a good deal of time to making arrangements for the orchestra, and quite a number of orchestrations have been made since the 1st January, of dance music, traditional airs for orchestra and soloist and for orchestra and choir. An immense amount of arrangement work remains to be done. It is a work that will be of lasting benefit to broadcasting and to our native music, and we are prepared to spend much more money on it than we have been spending.
Finance need not be a difficulty in connection with this important contribution to Irish music. The problem is that there are too few persons capable of doing the work and that those who are doing it have not as much time to spare for it as we, and they, would like. I should like to express my thanks to the authorities of the Folklore Commission for offering to place the large amount of music material held by the commission at the disposal of broadcasting for the purpose of orchestration.
As I mentioned briefly earlier, we have established a full-time choir of ten voices. We have had a part-time choir of 24 persons for some years. They have done excellent work, but it is more satisfactory to have a group who can devote their whole time to broadcasting. A Radio Éireann Choral Society of approximately 80 voices has also been formed. This large group will give two or three concerts with the symphony orchestra each year. I should like to pay a tribute here to the diligence and enthusiasm which I understand this voluntary society is bringing to its choral work. It requires persistence and interest to a high degree for people who are working all day to carry out long rehearsals in the evening. I wish the choral society every success.
I must speak of developments in connection with the orchestras. As I have already told the House, a permanent conductor and an assistant Irish conductor have been appointed. I need not expatiate on their qualities. It will be sufficient to say that the principal conductor has been invited to conduct the London and Paris Symphony Orchestras and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra while the Irish assistant conductor has just returned from guest conducting in Scandinavia. Wherever he went, Irish music was played and in Oslo the broadcasting station received messages from listeners asking for more Irish music. I hope that the conductors will introduce Irish music on a scale never before possible whenever they fulfil occasional foreign engagements.
Last year there was considerable discussion about the provision of orchestralplayers. In a small country such as this the Radio Éireann orchestras must inevitably set the whole standard of instrumental music in the country and the two orchestras become the national orchestras for Ireland—the 32 Counties.
In our music development we are relatively where England was in 1920, and of this we need not be ashamed because of very tardy but definite progress now evident on all sides. The future of this country depends so much on the abandonment of the avoidably mediocre in our national life that for our own advancement high standards must be set in every sphere to which we may aspire. In respect of Irish and symphonic music both for enhancing our cultural heritage and for the advancement of the tourist industry the variety and quality of Radio Éireann performances must enormously improve since broadcasting affects all music.
I am convinced that the future of Ar Tóstal and all Irish festivals depends on being able to offer the outside world an international forum for music and drama in which we provide exemplary entertainment and that we must build a concert hall and assembly rooms as a matter of vital national cold-blooded commercial interest as well as for the entertainment and culture of our own people. I understand that considerable progress may have been made in regard to this essential aspect of our civilisation.
The Dublin Orchestral Players, I trust, will continue to encourage some of their enthusiastic amateur players to acquire concert standard. Let me repeat, in Irish Boston, 160,000 tickets are bought every year for the popular classical concerts in a period of three months. In terms of greater Dublin, 50,000 people should attend concerts here apart from tourists if we are to enjoy music in proportionate degree. That is the target for our achievement, and Radio Éireann will inevitably play the major part in this development.
May I also observe that the crowds who come to the proms are in the majority ordinary people, not highbrows, and it is well for us to realise that symphony and operatic music arebecoming popular in the way they have always been in Germany, France and Italy. They are enjoyed by the people as a whole.
The director of music and the new conductor have been assessing the general position of both orchestras, while I have conferred with the examiners at Dublin Feiseanna of recent years, where the prize-winning standard is not, naturally, up to concert orchestra pitch, save very exceptionally. Finally, an audition has been held for all classes of instruments at which candidates were appointed, or told to continue their studies or informed that their standard was too much below the orchestras requirements to be given any special advice. The result of all these inquiries is that the director of music and the conductor can have the responsibility for bringing the orchestras to higher levels of performances in the light of the following facts and subject to certain general conditions.
All Irish players of European concert standard, such as that prescribed by, for example, the Danish radio orchestra, have been offered positions at the annual audition which has taken place, and there will be little chance of a surplus of talent but rather for years a scarcity of players. Promising players are being encouraged and a student orchestra will be formed. We can readily absorb all the talent that is likely to come forward in the next few years. No permanent musician whose standard remains unaltered will be dismissed. This will alleviate the fears of those who dislike the hardship that comes to players not accustomed to the intense movement taking place in the foreign musical world.
The recruitment of the orchestra, apart from those appointed as a result of annual auditions, is subject to the following limitations, which are in the nature of a résumé of the available musical talent here. In the violin class there are bright hopes. The comhairle will appoint six Irish violinists to the orchestra on a half-time basis while they continue their studies, an innovation unknown in national orchestracircles in Europe. There are a few other pupils of promise still at an early stage of instruction. In regard to the viola and 'cello classes, one viola player has been appointed, one shows promise. No 'cellist was found. There is an absolute dearth of these players of concert standard who wish to join the orchestras. No double bass players offer themselves. One pupil is studying under one of our musicians.
In regard to the seven main wind instruments, there are no concert standard instructors for two and for all these seven instruments there are 10 pupils taking concert standard instruction at the Academy of Music of whom six have been awarded scholarships. In fact, this country, in respect of wind instruments, is now in the same position as other countries in the twenties. As a result, all over Europe wind instrument players are found to be foreign or naturalised in the last twenty years. The number of pupils is, of course, grossly inadequate. At the audition, it was found possible to appoint one clarinet player. One of the more famous of our judges at a Feis said to me: "I have just completed my work at this Feis. I have two main impressions. There is plenty of musical talent in Ireland in respect of piano and violin, but very few people are studying wind instruments for playing in a symphony orchestra. I encourage them all but many of them do not realise the amount of study required to play well in an orchestra, sometimes three years, even five years after reaching the prize winning standard." It is obvious from speaking with the organisers of Feiseanna that competition is keen for singing, piano and violin. In respect of all other instruments there are a few aspirants. In fact, at two recent Dublin Feiseanna only 12 first and second prizes were awarded in respect of 30 prizes offered in the senior, intermediate and open grades for all orchestral instruments, excluding piano and violin.
Summing up the position, the director of music is encouraging Irish musicians to complete their studies. He will absorb all the native talent available but will have to haverecourse to foreign players when necessary, a practice now accepted as inevitable in countries such as Switzerland and Sweden. I hope there will be more musicians capable of giving advanced instruction; and that there will be more opportunities for sending on special occasions first-class musicians to assist and inspire the smaller amateur orchestras in Cork, Galway and elsewhere.
As regards equipment, the largest items are, of course, the new transmitters to which I have already referred. In addition, broadcasting has, for the first time, got an organ for its own use—a Campton Electrone. We are grateful to the churches and cinemas for providing for our organ music up to now. The acoustics are not, however, in all cases up to broadcasting needs in churches and other buildings and, besides, an organ is needed for broadcasting for other purposes than for full recitals. The organ is, therefore, a valuable addition to broadcasting facilities.
Among the smaller items of equipment I might mention that it is proposed to get a very high frequency apparatus which will enable commentaries to be given with facility on sports where the competitors move from place to place—golf, boat races, etc. The commentaries can be sent by very short wave radio to a receiving unit for transmission by line to the studio or for recording on the spot. The equipment can also be used for broadcasts from islands or other places from which broadcasts could not otherwise be done. Wé have also got sets of an ingeniously built small tape recording unit which was recently developed. The apparatus can easily be carried by a radio reporter, and he can use it anywhere he can go himself —for instance, for taking interviews in a crowded meeting, or in an aeroplane in flight.
I have reappointed the broadcasting advisory committee, in accordance with the provisions of the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926, that such a committee should be set up to advise the Minister. I hope and believe that the work of this honorary committeewill be as valuable to broadcasting as it has been in the past. The new comhairle is concerned to a considerable extent with the framing of policy and with executive decisions. The advisory committee will in a broad way represent listeners and will be able to make general recommendations to the Minister on the needs of the various sections of the community. I have appointed Séamus Ó Braonáin, former director of broadcasting, as chairman of the advisory committee for the next two years' period.
For the first time in the history of broadcasting here we have carried out a formal inquiry for the purpose of eliciting the tastes and habits of listeners and finding out when they listen and what they do and what they do not like in radio programmes. The brunt of the organisation of this inquiry fell on the Director of Statistics, Dr. Geary, and on the staff of the Central Statistics Office; the staffs of the post offices throughout the country carried out the field work. The inquiry was done with expedition and efficiency and we are most grateful to Dr. Geary and his officials and to the Post Office officials who undertook the work for us.
The result of this inquiry will not be published for reasons that are obvious. Dramatic producers do not publish figures recording the volume of applause for each member of their casts, nor does a music impresario list the number of tickets sold to people listening to a soprano and a tenor. But I will say this: The absolutely overwhelming majority of the Irish people with wireless sets listen to Radio Éireann every day in the year, and the percentage enjoying the more serious cultural and educational programmes is not unsatisfactory.
At the same time the inquiry also shows a tremendous interest in light music of American origin coming from abroad. The moral of the report is Radio Éireann will have to make a supreme effort to popularise and modernise what is Irish if national distinctions are to be preserved.
I have mentioned in public that one of the aims of Comhairle Radio Éireann and the director was to makean increase in the total daily broadcasting time. For some months past the station has been kept open up to 11.15 p.m. on the days the Dáil sat to give a summary of the proceedings. I am glad to say that beginning on November the 1st there has been a permanent opening up to 11.30 p.m. instead of the normal time of 11 p.m. on every night of the week.
Incidentally, I should mention that this is the period which has been placed well at the top of the list in the recent listener inquiry as the particular half-hour extension listeners would prefer. Plans have also been completed to open the station permanently for a continuous period on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. That will be a total extension of three hours on Sunday, from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Since the 2nd August the station has been kept open up to 3 o'clock instead of 2.30 as an instalment of the additional period.
May I say in connection with television, that I regard television as inevitable in the future, but in view of considerable comment in various circles I would like to make some observations on television in relation to this country.
Many rumours had been circulated in regard to the prospects for television about which no Government decision had been taken, and I desire to make the following observations:—
1. The Government has made no decision as yet on the future of television but its coming is inevitable, like the motor-car.
2. The range of foreign television over the Twenty-Six Counties is unlikely to extend in the next few years, so as to by itself compel a decision on home television.
3. In England and the United States of America the sale of radio sets remains very high (in the United States of America 10,000,000 radio to 11,000,000 television sets in one year). A demand for sound broadcasting would continue because of family preferences in the home even if television comes.
4. Television was the greatest visualpropaganda force for good or evil in the modern world. Never will I recommend to the Government television that is not absolutely first-class and directed towards the preservation of the national culture as well as for entertainment purposes. Second-rate television exceeds third-rate films in vulgarity.
5. Whatever the organisation set up for television may be, all-Ireland reception will be essential and considerable experimentation will be necessary.
6. Whatever the eventual plan for television the cost will be high if the programme is to be first-class.
7. Small countries in Europe are still experimenting. The conventions in regard to an exchange of programmes and provision of first-class telefilms and film records of plays, talks and features for universal use are in a state of flux, present material available being utterly inadequate. The position will probably alter radically in a few years and probably for the better. The same observations apply to colour television. Nothing will be gained by hasty decisions.
8. If the job is to be well done, a number of years will elapse before the full network could be available. Ample information and warning will be given by the Government a considerable time in advance of any installation should the heavy subsidies be considered possible and television in general considered desirable.
I referred briefly to the question of a second programme on the Supplementary Estimate in November last and I indicated that there could possibly be some separate transmissions from Dublin and Cork when the new transmitters had been installed. The second programme is a matter of some magnitude and complexity and I have nothing further to report to the House at this stage. I also gave my views to the House in November on the need for an up-to-date radio headquarters and I am leaving the matter at that for the present. I should say, however, that the recent increase of 5/- in the licence fee provided only for the increase in expenses of broadcastingthat had taken place over a number of years and for such improvements as are taking place at present or are envisaged in the near future.
I cannot now say how a radio building or a complete second programme would be financed. If broadcasting itself had to make any contribution to them the new licence fee of 17/6 would not meet the cost. This is not, however, a matter of immediate consequence for listeners, as these projects will not come to fruition for some considerable time.
I have now given the Dáil an account of the work of the broadcasting station under its new management. I am fully satisfied that the bringing of broadcasting to a sort of half-way house between ordinary Civil Service and independent statutory organisation type of operation—which was obviously in the nature of an experiment—has proved to be an outstanding success. As Minister, I have found it possible to step out of the broadcasting picture at a much earlier date than I thought possible except, of course, for such matters as the Minister and Government must continue to be responsible, and are responsible for, where broadcasting is carried out by corporations. I now leave the ordinary operations of broadcasting to the comhairle and the director and I do so with every confidence. We have now few complaints of unfairness or lack of balance in the news, and it seems to be accepted that the broadcasting authorities are giving the news in a disinterested way—the criterion being the value of the news as general interest for listeners. In matters such as Dáil questions, Deputies have accepted the spirit of the reorganisation and are not to any large extent insisting on their rights to put questions about matters concerning the day-to-day working of the station.
People are slow to praise openly any State activity, direct or indirect, but I would be lacking any kind of political and social conscience if I did not record in the annals of this House the great number of messages I have received from all over Ireland recognising the improvement in the programmes.
Credit must go first to the directorwho in a short space of time has justified my faith in his abilities and above all my conviction that he never lost touch with this country and would understand our virtues, prejudices and frailties.
The comhairle has shown a fine sense of responsibility and as a team clearly understand the more idealistic function of broadcasting.
I would like to thank the staff of broadcasting who have borne the brunt of the work under conditions which were not ideal because of some shortage of personnel and insufficient and not entirely suitable accommodation. I welcome the new members of the staff who have been selected because of their qualifications for the jobs into which they have been put. I am confident they will bring their enthusiasm and ability to bear on the many broadcasting jobs which have to be done in a minimum of time and with a maximum of efficiency and will help their more experienced colleagues in making the machine work with less flurry in the whole organisation and with more pleasure for our listeners.
