Vol. 501 No. 6
103 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the areas which do not receive Teilifís na Gaeilge; the plans, if any, she has in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6903/99]
I refer the Deputy to previous replies to similar questions, in particular my reply to Questions Nos. 63 and 138 of 18 June 1998. As I stated on that occasion, at present Teilifís na Gaeilge operates as an RTE service under the Broadcasting Authority Acts, 1960 to 1993. The issue raised by the Deputy is the day to day responsibility of the RTE authority on the advice of Comhairle Theilifís na Gaeilge and I have no statutory function in the matter. However, in accordance with long-standing custom, I am prepared to furnish to the House information supplied by RTE in response to questions relating specifically to improvements in reception of its national broadcasting services.
RTE informs me that: Teilifís na Gaeilge is available to 95 per cent of the population on the UHF band; reception is not available yet in parts of the counties of Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Cork and Kerry; subject to the acquistion of suitable sites and planning permission, it hopes that when the 1999 programme of development is completed coverage of Teilifís na Gaeilge will be comparable to that of RTE 1 and Network 2.
