asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if, in view of the frequent breakdown in transmission from the RTE transmitter at Moville, County Donegal, he will ensure that some worthwhile repair work is undertaken.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Donegal RTE Transmitter.
25.
Moville is one of a number of areas where reception is below the national average mainly because the transposer is unreliable. I understand that some recent breakdowns at Moville were due to the loss of ESB supply either locally or at the Letterkenny transposer from which it gets its signal.
RTE have completed a detailed examination of reception in the country as a whole and have put forward proposals for dealing with it over a period of three to four years. These proposals, which include provision of new transmitters in Donegal, are at present under consideration in my Department.
In view of the breakdowns that took place prior to any ESB strike, and especially against the background of the Minister's proposal for open broadcasting and the fact that Donegal and other border transmitters transmit into the Northern territory, would he not consider that it is now necessary to have much better transmission from these stations?
Can the Parliamentary Secretary state——
May I have a reply to my supplementary?
Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary would reply to Deputy Cunningham?
The Deputy seems to have misunderstood my original reply.
I did not. I understood it perfectly.
When the Deputy states that there would be a lapse of some time before the report was completed he obviously misunderstood the reply, which was that these proposals have already been made by RTE. They include provision for transmitters in Donegal and they are at present under consideration in the Department.
What is under consideration?
The proposals made by RTE.
Could we have them please?
As far as the question is concerned they include provision for new transmitters in Donegal.
When?
In ten years' time.
This is not a Fianna Fáil Government, no ten years' wait.
I doubt if they will take as long——
(Interruptions.)
I do not want to make a football of this matter. I asked a question about transmission. The Parliamentary Secretary tells me that there are proposals. I want to know more about them. They are not secret, are they? Could we have these proposals and could he say when they will be implemented and when can we expect a better transmission service?
I have tried to help the Deputy so far as his question is concerned. The proposals at present under consideration by the Minister include proposals for new transmitters in Donegal. I fully accept, having some personal knowledge of the Inishowen Peninsula, that reception there leaves much to be desired, but the Deputy should remember that when the transmitters were installed and up to last March his party were responsible. One of the difficulties is that the transmitters installed were not strong enough.
(Interruptions.)
Would the Parliamentary Secretary accept——
Deputy Blaney has been seeking to get in. I wish to bring him in at this stage. Will Deputy Cunningham accept the direction of the Chair in this matter?
Is it not a fact that the service arrangements for repairs are headquartered in Sligo? Between now and these proposals maturing, whenever that may be, would the Parliamentary Secretary pass on to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs our wish that those who look after the transmitters in Donegal should be stationed much nearer to them than they are at present. Sligo is much too far away. It is only half way from Dublin to where this mast is located. This is ridiculous. If we had earlier service and earlier concern——
We cannot debate the matter now.
May I ask the Parliamentary Secretary, who knows the area and the difficulties well, to pass on to his colleague the request which I have made before and that is to get the service personnel back into Donegal, nearer to their work? This would help a good deal between now and the maturing of the proposals the Parliamentary Secretary mentioned.
I am not aware of the service personnel being stationed in Sligo but I shall certainly pass on the Deputy's observations to the Minister.
Deputy Cunningham, with a final brief supplementary.
Are there proposals to instal new transmitters or are the Minister and the Department considering the proposals? Have proposals been considered and agreed to? Or are they still just proposals which the Minister may or may not adopt?
There seems to be some confusion in the Deputy's mind in regard to the reply—deliberate or otherwise, I am not sure.
No, it is not deliberate.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I shall read the reply again.
I think that is quite unnecessary. We shall have to pass on to Question No. 26.
I am doing my best to help the Deputy.