Vol. 481 No. 1
212 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands her views on Teilifís na Gaeilge and its performance to date; if she has met with management of the station; and if she will ensure that reception is available countrywide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15733/97]
: At present, Teilifís na Gaeilge operates as an RTÉ service under the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960 to 1993.
As the Deputy is aware, RTÉ was given the responsibility by Government of constructing the technical infrastructure necessary for the establishment of Teilifís na Gaeilge as a separate national service and, pending the establishment of separate legal structures for Teilifís na Gaeilge, of assuming responsibility for staff, programmes and operations of the service. Accordingly the performance of Teilifís na Gaeilge is a matter for the RTÉ Authority on the advice of Comhairle Theilifís na Gaeilge.
In the context of a range of courtesy meetings with the various bodies under the aegis of my Department, I met the management and staff of Teilifís na Gaeilge in Baile na hAbhann in July last.
Regarding the reception of Teilifís na Gaeilge, RTÉ informs me that Teilifís na Gaeilge is available to more than 95 per cent of the population on the UHF band. RTÉ estimates that between 74 per cent and 81 per cent of the population can receive that service using their existing receive equipment and that 21 per cent to 24 per cent require a new UHF aerial to receive service.
RTÉ further state that they are implementing an ongoing coverage improvement plan for Teilifís na Gaeilge during 1997 and that it operates a Call Save number, which is frequently advertised in the media, to advise viewers on how to tune into Teilifís na Gaeilge.
