This debate gives us an opportunity to hear the views of the Opposition on the thorny question of broadcasting. The first thing that must be accepted, irrespective of the comments of the Opposition, is that the Government bit the bullet as far as the broadcasting issue is concerned and forged a policy on broadcasting which the Coalition were unable to do for four years. The fundamental question at issue is whether Dáil Éireann, and the country, want an alternative system of broadcasting or a multiplicity of choice in broadcasting and whether we want an alternative in the area of news and current affairs. Generally speaking, there was a consensus for that approach when the original Bill was introduced in 1988. People indicated that they wanted a multiplicity of choice in broadcasting. The support for the pirate stations was a manifestation of a desire by the people for an alternative to RTE. One could argue that it was the pirate stations that forced RTE to become more competitive in their programming and more responsive to the needs of their audience and, in particular, to the young audience. It was because of the unacceptability of the pirate stations that a new broadcasting policy emerged. It sought to give the people what they wanted.
It is a fundamental cornerstone of democracy that we give people choice and that we do not have a monopoly in the dissemination of news and in the preparation of current affairs programmes. Much has been achieved in that respect following the acceptance of our new broadcasting policy. An objective person examining the competitive environment in which the new independent stations are operating must come to the conclusion that the situation is not equitable. It is extremely difficult for the independent stations to compete realistically with RTE, given the dual funding arrangements for that station. RTE enjoy an inbuilt advantage in that they receive the proceeds from the licence fee which amounts to more than £45 million per annum and, in addition, earn substantial revenue from advertising. It was because of those inbuilt strengths that they were in a position to almost kill off the new independent national station and many of the local stations. I accept that in the marketplace the strong players endeavour to kill off new competitors but the difficulty here was that the position was not fair. RTE were using their income from the licence fees to kill off their competitors.
There is considerable independent academic evidence to sustain the view that RTE were using their licence fee revenue to subsidise their advertising rates and were selling advertisements at below the appropriate rate, thereby making it difficult for the new stations to survive. The Government are faced with the difficulty that they must permit the policy of having an alternative system survive and they must allow RTE to grow. They must either take money from the licence fee revenue and divert it to the Independent Radio and Television Commission or put a cap on RTE advertising. In the debate so far, the Opposition have failed to come to grips with that dilemma. We have had a paucity of realistic proposals to deal with that dilemma. We must maintain an independent alternative system and to do that we must put a proper financial structure in place.
Deputy Mitchell suggested that the Government should make a once-off payment to Century Radio and that to me indicates that Fine Gael do not have a problem in principle with diverting licence fee revenue, or public money, to the private sector. However, a once-off payment would not deal with structural difficulties. Those difficulties are likely to recur and it is important that the Minister should put in place a financial structure that will enable the independent stations to survive over the next five to ten years. There is little point in making a once-off payment this year and having to consider making a payment next year or in three years' time. The Fine Gael proposal is not realistic.
We must create an environment that will allow the independent stations to survive. Members will be aware that Century Radio experienced difficulties with the transmission facility at the outset. One could argue for the establishment of an independent body to govern transmission facilities for radio and television. It seems absurd that one's competitor is charged with the responsibility of giving a rival the facility to transmit its signal. Initially Century Radio reached 60 per cent of their target audience and that must have reduced their capacity to generate advertising revenue. It is important that TV3 do not experience the same problems in relation to their system. At their launch they should be able to reach 90 per cent to 100 per cent of their target audience.
The Dáil imposed upon Century Radio and other stations, a 20 per cent public service obligation. That cost a considerable amount of money and it impeded the station's ability to survive and become profitable. We should remember that 2FM did not have to comply with that obligation and, as a result, enjoy a considerable advantage over the independent stations. It must be acknowledged that the Government's policy in many other areas has been very successful. The growth of local independent stations has met with considerable approval by the public and we should not lose sight of that. I accept that we may have some casualties but, by and large, local people welcome the choice. In rural Ireland many young people have been afforded an opportunity to enter an industry from which hitherto they were precluded. Very few people in rural Ireland had an opportunity to gain the technical skills necessary for broadcasting. They can gain experience and employment in broadcasting and as a result we will have a pool of skilled personnel available for the broadcasting sector in future years. The Government are determined that the broadcasting and audio-visual industry should grow. That is one of the hidden benefits of the Government's policy.
We should remember that more than 600 jobs, full-time and part-time, have been created in broadcasting. That should be borne in mind when we are considering how we should help the independent stations survive. The State introducing measures to help ailing industries survive is not new and when that is related to the broadcasting industry it has some merit. The Opposition have concentrated on knocking the Minister's approach. In doing so they have attacked many of the people involved. Many unacceptable terms were used about some of the personalities involved. The Labour Leader, Deputy Spring, went overboard when he referred to political cronyism, political cronies and so on. We all know the people involved and I do not think they could be described as political cronies. It is reprehensible to term them as such. Many of the people involved have been of great benefit to the country. The efforts of one man in the city of Cork have been beneficial because of his energy and entrepreneurial skill.
