asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he has any further report to make on open broadcasting.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Open Broadcasting.
8.
I welcome the occasion offered to me by Deputy Brugha to make an interim report on this matter. May I also avail of the occasion to welcome Deputy Brugha as spokesman for his party on Posts and Telegraphs.
The discussions between officials of my Department and of the British Ministry for Posts and Telecommunications are still continuing.
As I indicated in earlier statements on this subject, these negotiations are complex and affect a wide variety of interests. They will be, therefore, necessarily somewhat protracted.
As the House will recall, there are two main aspects to this concept. One aspect concerns widening the freedom of choice of viewers in Northern Ireland by making the RTE service available to all in the North who want to see it. The second aspect is to widen the freedom of choice of viewers in the Republic by making Northern Ireland services available throughout this State.
As far as the first, or Northern, aspect of this is concerned, it will be apparent to the House that the present delicate phase of political negotiation inside Northern Ireland is not a suitable one for pressing the British Government for a decision on a matter of this kind. This matter will need to be looked at after an Executive comes into being in the North, and the whole concept is, of course, one eminently suitable for consideration by a future Council of Ireland. I am particularly anxious that Northern opinion in general, and not just in one community, should get used to the idea and, in particular, that the majority in Northern Ireland should see that it is unobjectionable from their point of view. There are some signs that opinion is moving in that direction. The Belfast Telegraph, widely regarded as representative of a large section of opinion in the North, has extended a qualified and sober welcome to the idea. Also the Unionist Assembly member for East Belfast, Mr. Roy Bradford, in a BBC discussion with me expressed a positive demand on the part of many of those whom he represents to have RTE available to them. He said:
To put it in stark political terms we would very often like to see just what is going on in the South— the inconsistency, possibly, between what public postures and attitudes are struck for British consumption in the South and what attitudes are struck in the privacy of the less revealing context of, shall we say, local programmes. But also, apart from that, one would like to—just as I would like to take French television if I could through my own box—I'd like to be able to get RTE because they do some very good programmes.
The majority of Protestants here, a lot of them might not wish to look at some of the programme content, but I think the majority would wish to have this facility available since it is available the other way round in the South. It's choice—it's a matter of individual choice.
That is what Mr. Bradford said.
The New Ulster Movement too have expressed their support for the open broadcasting idea. I am hopeful that, given a favourable evolution in the direction of power sharing inside Northern Ireland, that the RTE service will become available and widely acceptable there.
As regards the second aspect, that of making Northern Ireland programmes available within the area of jurisdiction of this Parliament, the Government have just taken an important relevant decision—to provide a network of transmitters and microwave links at an estimated cost of £2.4 million. It is important to be clear about the exact nature and limits of this decision. The basic point is that, without the provision of this equipment there is no possibility of providing any choice at all in most of the present single channel area. In fact, such choice does not become a technical possibility until this equipment is acquired and has been installed and the process of acquiring and installing it is estimated to take between two and three years from the date of the decision to provide the equipment. I regret this delay but at least a date can now be set by which residents in the single channel areas of the south and west can expect to enjoy a choice of viewing.
If the current negotiations with the British authorities can successfully be concluded, this equipment can serve to transmit a Northern Ireland channel throughout the Republic as a first step towards the open broadcasting concept. It is my understanding that this arrangement would give a considerable degree of satisfaction to many viewers in the present single channel area.
If this arrangement does not prove feasible, consideration will be given to alternative means of satisfying the demand. The point I would emphasise is that this equipment will be required whatever alternative may be decided on. As the House is aware, the Broadcasting Review Committee have recommended a second RTE channel. Some associations of viewers in the single channel area have indicated that the provision of such a channel would not be regarded by them as a satisfactory answer to the problem. I attached sufficient weight to this expression of opinion, and other relevant considerations, to have given priority to the question of retransmitting a Northern Ireland channel. If, however, this project should not materialise, consideration would have to be given to other alternatives, including the proposed second RTE channel.
I should like first, to compliment the Minister for his very comprehensive statement on this matter. In the light of my responsibility as the Opposition spokesman I should like to put three practical down-to-earth questions to the Minister arising out of his reply. Would the Minister not now admit that in view of the many complexities and obstacles, not to mention the cost, of this whole area of open broadcasting that his earlier announcements and the publicity attending those anouncements were, to some extent, misleading to the public and were based on premature assumptions on his part?
I would not agree that my earlier statements were in any way misleading. My basic statement was made in introducing the Estimate for my Department last May and I was there indicating a direction in which I wanted to proceed, a direction of the widest possible freedom of choice. I obtained quite a wide concensus in favour of this general concept. I indicated that I wanted to move that way and I do not think that I underestimated the difficulties at any time. Before my first meeting with Sir John Eden I announced that any such negotiations would be long, complex and protracted. There was no question of my arousing unjustifiable hopes. I do want to provide the maximum freedom of choice that can be provided and I want to cope with the complexities and difficulties as best I can.
The publicity was misleading to the public. Are the Minister and the Government not now involving themselves in a situation where open-broadcasting to all of Ireland will be available to the British Broadcasting Corporation and not necessarily to our own national service, RTE?
I do not quite understand the Deputy's question. I would be obliged if he would clarify the point he is making. I do not understand what is meant by open-broadcasting being available to RTE.
If the Minister, in accordance with his announcement earlier this week, is going to transmit the northern BBC signal to the remainder of the country then we are involving ourselves in open broadcasting by the BBC for the whole of Ireland.
The Deputy is prejudging the outcome of the negotiations that are under way. The negotiations are aimed at bringing RTE to a public in Northern Ireland and bringing a Northern Ireland channel to the viewers who undoubtedly want to see such a service in the south and west of this country. I hope that both of these things work out and I do not think the Deputy should assume that just one would.
I hope that this arrangement will not be one-sided and that there will be no danger that it will be one-sided.
I hold the Deputy's view and I share it.
I cannot allow an inordinate amount of time to be devoted to this question however important it may be. I have given a lot of latitude to the Deputy on this matter.
I stated that I wished to raise three supplementaries and so far I have raised two.
Perhaps it is fair, as I was permitted so much latitude in making my reply, that the Deputy should be allowed ask a further supplementary.
I cannot allow a debate on this matter today.
Do we not agree that the main aim in broadcasting on this island is to try to ensure an exchange of the cultures north and south and that one of our problems is that the transmitting stations in the north are British owned and may not, or need not, necessarily reflect the traditions of the two communities in the north with whom we would wish to exchange cultural feeling? This can be reflected by RTE if RTE had the facility of transmitting into the North of Ireland.
There are several factors involved. I agree, to a considerable extent, with the Deputy. I wish that it were the case that a greater amount of locally originated material were on the Northern Ireland services. I would even wish that there was a greater proportion of locally originated material on RTE but we have to make a start somewhere in this matter. Another major factor which is involved here is the question of demand. There are a lot of people in the North who want to see RTE, and this is a legitimate wish, and a lot of people in the south and west of this country want to have some freedom of choice in this matter. I want to provide them with it.
From a very practical point of view and going a short distance towards what the Minister says he is aiming at, would the Minister tell me if the promise that he gave me when this matter was discussed previously that the existing RTE stations in the northern part of the country and especially along the Border which give a certain amount of viewing across the Border has been fulfilled since?
As the Deputy is aware, there are problems here of an international character. It is not an object of international approval to boost a local signal in order to carry over any territory.
I am concerned with improving the existing one.
I hope that all RTE facilities will be improved.
I am calling Question No. 9. The Chair has intimated already that it has given a lot of latitude on this question and that it wishes to move off in order to make some progress on other important questions.
My supplementary will be short and sharp.
That would be a change.
If the Chair is to be obeyed at Question Time——
I am not challenging the Chair. I have a short, precise question to put. Has the Minister decided to spend the £2.4 million and, if so, having regard to this large sum of money is he aware that consumer groups in the west and south of Ireland are not satisfied with this arrangement?
The answer is "yes" and "yes".
I would ask the Minister to ensure that the ambitions of some commercial interest—I refer in particular to the prospect of groups getting together to set up a commercial TV station—be resisted firmly by him.
The question of setting up a commercial TV station is not being considered at present in my Department.
That does not show much consultation.