asked the Minister for Communications whether the constraint of ministerial approval required of RTE for broadcasting hours will be modified when independent stations are licensed.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - RTE Broadcasting Hours.
2.
There is no intention at present to modify the Broadcasting Authority Acts, 1960-1979, in so far as they refer to the provision specifying that ministerial approval is required for the maximum and minimum hours of broadcasting fixed by the Authority.
Will the Minister not agree that this very day he has before the House a Bill that will give to independent television and radio the right to regulate their own broadcasting hours? What sense is there in preventing RTE doing the very same?
In practice the provisions that are in the Broadcasting Acts place very little constraints on the Authority with regard to programming hours on radio and television. All recent applications for increased hours on both radio and television have been approved with the exception of an application relating to Cork local radio. The policy of retention of ministerial approval over increases in the broadcasting hours is to ensure that the Authority do not over-extend at the expense of the television licence fee payer.
Does the Minister feel that RTE will be put at a disadvantage given that they are now going to have to compete with independent radio that are being set up under the Bill we are discussing today on the basis that they are going to be subject to certain constraints in terms of the number of hours they can broadcast whereas the independents will not be?
No. On the contrary, RTE have a distinct advantage over individual independent television and radio to be established because RTE will be in receipt of a licence fee as well as the advertising revenue that they are capable of bringing in. They have over 60 years experience in radio and over 25 years in television and experience in gaining advertising. They have their very important and very large niche in the market so there is no disadvantage. As far as the operation of co-operation and controls between the Department and the RTE Authority is concerned, in order that the RTE Authority will be on the level playing pitch the Chairman of the RTE Authority speaks about, since before Christmas there has been a joint working group between the RTE Authority and officials of my Department. They meet on a regular basis. Whenever problems come up, whenever queries arise, they are sorted out in the context of those arrangements and the RTE Authority will be happy with the announcement I made this morning in regard to the extra hours, extra advertising time on radio, television and Radio na Gaeltachta.
How does this fit in with the Minister's avowed espousal of the removal of bureacracy from State agencies? How does he explain his suggestion that it would burden the licence fee holder if there was an extension of broadcasting hours when the Minister must approve such a licence fee change?
At the moment the Minister of the day has control over the extra hours that RTE would be looking for. It is important that there should be some control, that the organisation does not over-extend because it will be the licence fee payer who will be picking up the tab at the end of the day and, as the Deputy rightly says, it is also the role of the Minister of the day to make decisions in relation to licence fees. There is no reason to change the legislation. RTE are in a unique position. They receive up to 45 per cent of their revenue from licence fres and there should be some control to protect the consumer. We have heard a lot in the past couple of weeks about protecting the consumer and this is one instance where we should not remove the protection for the consumer that is inherent in this ministerial approval.
Restricted broadcasting is not going to protect the consumer. We will see what the Minister has to say about this tonight.