I thank the Minister of State and the Chair for permitting me to raise this issue. I call on the Government to take steps to provide for the reception of RTÉ 1, Network Two and Téilifis na Gaeilge in Great Britain. I have been contacted by many Irish emigrants in Britain who have sought the provision of such a service for many years.
I understand efforts are being made to increase the power northwards from the RTÉ and Téilifis na Gaeilge transmitter at Clarmount Carn, County Louth, to improve reception in Northern Ireland. It must be possible to establish a phased increase in the power of this transmitter eastwards to provide reception in Great Britain. At present, emigrants can only receive a patchy RTÉ off air signal on the west coast of Britain. The quality of reception varies, depending on location, and is subject to interference from other television channels. However, I understand RTÉ estimates that coverage will increase from the current level of 30 per cent of the population of Northern Ireland to approximately 60 to 70 per cent if a phased increase in power is approved from the Clarmount Carn transmitter. Why not seek approval for terrestrial coverage of Britain? I call on the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht to do so because emigrants are seeking coverage of RTÉ television programmes. This is a practical way to continue the link with home for emigrants.
The matter of RTÉ reception in Northern Ireland is being dealt with under the aegis of the Anglo-Irish Conference. Would it not be possible to discuss the issue I raised with the British Government and find practical and reasonable solutions to any problems which may arise? Increasing power northwards at the Clarmount Carn transmitter will probably mean that, in addition to people in Northern Ireland, those living in Scotland will also benefit. Why can people in England not benefit, particularly the large numbers of Irish emigrants who reside there?
Viewers in the extended coverage area who wish to receive these services may be obliged to install appropriate aerials but this is not a major problem. In Ireland, many people who wish to view programmes on Téilifis na Gaeilge must install a special aerial. We are informed that parts of the east coast of Ireland receive multi-channel television because of a geographical accident but this does not work in the opposite direction. However, it is one of the reasons people in the west have availed of the deflector system. Such a system was recently shut down in County Galway.
The deflector system or its MMDS counterpart cannot be used to transmit RTÉ television programmes to Irish emigrants in Britain. The Minister should indicate to the Secretary of State for National Heritage that this Government and RTÉ would be prepared to pay some of the engineering costs arising from the provision of RTÉ programmes to Great Britain. If other issues of a practical nature arise, they should be addressed by the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications. I hope the Minister will show commitment to the proposal I am making. He knows there are millions of Irish emigrants throughout Great Britain. I know of one Irish person in London who had a trial broadcast of a radio service devoted to Irish programmes which attracted an audience of 1.2 million people. The same audience is available for RTÉ I, Network Two and Teilifís na Gaeilge. I hope the Minister will look for the political agreement that is necessary to have these proposals implemented.
