asked the Minister for External Affairs if he will recommend to the Government the advisability of having the question of the partition of our country brought to the notice of the people of the United States of America through the medium of commercial television in that country.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Partition Broadcasts Through Television.
Television broadcasts of the kind to which the Deputy refers would only be effective if they were frequent and if they covered the whole of the United States. If the Deputy has in mind the purchase of time on television programmes, I understand, from inquiries I have made, that the cost would be prohibitive, particularly as it would have to be paid for in dollars.
From time to time, however, radio and television companies give opportunities for broadcasts which are availed of by our friends in America, such as the American League for an Undivided Ireland. Recently, the Taoiseach availed of an opportunity to give an interview to an American television company which was widely used in the United States.
The possibility of telling the American people about Partition by television has been explored?
It is very costly. I understand there was a recent broadcast in America which cost 300,000 dollars for half an hour and another one for an hour which cost 500,000 dollars.
A quarter of a million dollars for a nation-wide hookup for half an hour, I think, is the standard.
As I say, one cost 300,000 dollars for half an hour and another 500,000 dollars for an hour.