Vol. 439 No. 3
42 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he will take steps to lease out to an independent operator the use of one of the RTE television channels for a period of hours each night or each week to provide competition in Irish originated programming.
I have no such plans. Under existing legislation it is not possible to do as the Deputy suggests. Under section 4 of the Radio and Television Act, 1988, it is the function of the Independent Radio and Television Commission to arrange for the provision of a television service additional to those provided by RTE. The demands that will be placed on the independent television production sector by virtue of the provisions of section 4 of the Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act, 1993, and the advent of Teilifís na Gaeilge will be significant and I intend to see how the sector meets these demands before considering any new initiatives in this area.
