asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs whether, under the terms of the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960, he exercises any authority over the manner in which the Broadcasting Authority expends the funds available to it, taking into consideration that a large proportion of such funds are paid to the Authority by the State in the form of licence fees and advances from the Exchequer; if so, what authority; whether the expenditure of large sums of its funds on the publication in the national press of advertisements relating to trade disputes to which the Authority is a party can be regarded as a proper function of the Authority under the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960; and whether he will without delay either direct the Authority to cease publication of such advertisements; or, if such action is not within his powers, if he will introduce legislation to increase his powers and those of the Oireachtas over the expenditure of such funds.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Expenditure of Broadcasting Authority Funds.
When the Oireachtas decided to set up a statutory Authority with responsibility for establishing and maintaining a national television and broadcasting service, it was satisfied that the Authority should have all powers necessary for or incidental to that purpose and that intervention by me or by the Government should be confined to a small number of matters in which State interests must be safeguarded. Under the Act, I control the amounts of the grants paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas while advances for capital purposes are made out of the Exchequer by the Minister for Finance on my recommendation but I have no control over the manner in which the Authority spends its ordinary revenue.
I am aware of no provision in the Act which would prevent the Authority from incurring expenditure on advertisements giving its version of a trade dispute and I do not propose to take any action which would limit the Authority's independence in this respect.
Did I understand the Minister to say that the Broadcasting Authority can spend the money in whatever way it likes?
I said I have no control over the manner in which the Authority spends its ordinary revenue.
Can it therefore expend its ordinary revenue on anything it likes?
I have no statutory control in that respect. The Authority gets its revenue for a specific purpose and uses it for that purpose.
Must the Minister be satisfied that they do in fact expend it?
I am asked here if I have any authority or control over the manner in which the Broadcasting Authority expends the funds available to it and I am saying I have no statutory authority over the manner in which it expands this revenue.
Would the Minister consider using his good offices to prevail on the Broadcasting Authority to desist spending public money on putting across what is regarded as a completely unfair and untrue version of this dispute? Does the Minister not agree that the pursuance of that policy is likely to aggravate what is already a delicate situation and that it is not conducive to securing an amicable settlement of the dispute between the Broadcasting Authority and the journalists concerned?
When the Minister says he has no control over the way the Broadcasting Authority spends the money, could it buy a racehorse with it?
That is another matter.
Is it likely to?
If the Minister has no control, in fact it could.
If the Broadcasting Authority constitutes itself into something akin to a strike-breaker, can the Minister not intervene?
The dispute is before the Labour Court and I would not wish to offer any opinion on that question.
That is all the more reason why it should desist from putting stupid advertisements in the paper that are not even true.