asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if in view of the fact that the decision to transmit from the Mount Leinster television transmitter on Channel F will result in total obliteration of the U.T.V., Channel 9, programme over a large area of Dublin and the Midlands, and that the decision to transmit from the Galway transmitter on Channel A will very seriously interfere with reception on Channel 1 from Belfast over a large area of Dublin and the Midlands resulting in serious depreciation of the usefulness of existing TV sets worth over £1,000,000, he will make alternative arrangements, particularly in view of the large number of alternative frequencies available.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Mount Leinster Television Transmitter.
83.
Mr. Ryan
The number of separate channels available for television stations operating in the frequency bands in general use for television purposes is quite small and under the Stockholm Agreement many television stations in the European area share each channel. Sharing is possible because the service area of any television stations is limited and administrations accept that it is not practicable to prevent interference from other stations in fringe areas of reception. Dublin and the midlands are, of course, well outside the service areas of the transmitters in the Six Counties, which are operating on Channels 9 and 1 and the signal strength of these transmitters is very much below the minimum on which the degrees of protection obtaining under the Stockholm Agreement were based.
The problem is how to ensure that no Telefís Éireann transmitter will cause serious interference to, or will suffer serious interference from, any other transmitter situated in any part of Ireland or outside Ireland in the respective service areas of the transmitters.
My Department is in communication with the British Post Office on the question of making some minor frequency adjustments with a view to minimising mutual interference between the Mount Leinster station on Channel F and the stations in Great Britain and the Six Counties which are operating on Channel 9. It will, however, probably not be possible to avoid interference with the U.T.V. transmissions in fringe areas of reception.
My Department has also consulted the other Administrations concerned regarding a change from Channel A to Channel B in the frequency allocated to Gort Station under the Stockholm Agreement and if this change is approved the station should not interfere with reception from the B.B.C. transmissions on Channel 1. An announcement in the matter will be made in the near future.
Mr. Ryan
Are we to understand that the Department of Posts and Telegraphs considers it more important not to interfere with foreign users of television than to meet the requirements of Irish viewers?
The Deputy should not understand that at all.
Mr. Ryan
Will the Minister say what the difficulty will be in swapping the channel they propose using in Cork for the one on Mount Leinster and thus avoid cutting out the Dublin area?
The Deputy did not ask me that question in the beginning. He should remember that broadcasting is not a free for all and that the frequencies are allocated by agreement between the administrations concerned.
Mr. Ryan
Is it not true that we were originally allocated 20 different frequencies? We are on a fringe area and should not interfere with other frequencies but some officials of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs have decided, for their own narrow purposes, to use the same frequencies as the Belfast station and so cut it out. Telefís Éireann would not exist today if thousands of people had not been using the U.T.V. and B.B.C. stations.
The Deputy is making a speech.
Surely we may expect that the Minister will concern himself to ensure that the present degree of reception available to licence holders in the Dublin area for U.T.V. and B.B.C. will not be destroyed by the Mount Leinster Telefís Éireann distribution.
That is the very reason that the Department of Posts and Telegraphs are now in consultation with the British Post Office to make certain that we get the best possible reception for all out of the frequencies available to us under the Stockholm agreement.
Mr. Ryan
In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the Minister's reply I propose to raise this matter on the Adjournment.
I will communicate with the Deputy.