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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 2 Jun 1999

Vol. 505 No. 7

Major Events Television Coverage Bill, 1999: Second Stage (Resumed).

Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am glad of the opportunity to speak in support of the Bill which is timely and warranted legislation. The Minister dealt with the pace of change in broadcasting and the changes in sport, especially in sports coverage. She gave a firm commitment that there would be significant consultation with the public, organisers, administrators and volunteers involved in sport before any event is designated or listed. I welcome that because it is very important.

We may praise it or curse it, but television has become an integral part of our lives as individuals and as a society. The world around us may be shaped or our concepts of reality can be based on what comes down the television tube. The worst horrors of famine and war can be banished with the flick of a switch. Television has helped us travel the world and see distant countries without leaving our armchairs and without the discomfort of travel which affects some people. We may think we have been to those places and that the impressions contained in an hour long documentary are the totality.

Many of those involved in development aid, disaster relief or conflict resolution refer to a pervasive phenomenon called "CNN syndrome". For a week or two, the world's television cameras focus the world's collective attention on a catastrophe, war or famine. After a while, the camera crews are called away, at times to cover a similar event elsewhere. The original story fades and people believe the lack of coverage somehow reflects a resolution and an end to the tragedy which brought the cameras there in the first place, whereas those on the ground know the tragedy continues. It is often the logistics of a far away and largely insensitive television company which have dictated the removal of the story from the world's sitting rooms. Television is able to mould reality and its powers are immense. It is hardly surprising that every authoritarian regime holds its television service in an iron grip with dedicated men ensuring the official line is hammered home at every opportunity.

Until the late 1980s, television was organised on a national basis. Each state had its national broadcaster with one, two or three channels. Its coverage was limited to the borders of the state. There probably was not ever a serious attempt to broadcast far beyond the national frontier to people speaking a different language. The advent of satellite broadcasting changed this landscape. The national broadcasters were now challenged by media such as Turner Television and Sky, whose broadcasts were no longer restricted by borders. The potential viewing audience was no longer a nation state but the world. Some traditional broadcasters have responded to this challenge, most noticeably the BBC through its world service television network.

A further technological advance is now upon to us with the advent of digital television. There was a time when house prices were influenced by whether a property was in receipt of two or three television channels instead of one. People living in the Border area had the advantage of being able to receive BBC, UTV and RTE. Most of those who subscribe to cable television can now access at least 20 channels, but digital television will offer a multiplicity of channels from the outset.

Large international satellite broadcasters have revolutionised television and many aspects of traditional terrestrial broadcasting. This is true of areas such as news gathering where the concept of "as it happens" reportage means that those who cannot wait for their evening dose of news can have a 24 hour supply. This has helped to make the world a smaller place which is not a bad thing, but it is only part of the story.

The world of broadcasting is driven as never before by commercial imperatives. Few of the large satellite television companies are bound by a commitment to serve the social needs of the countries they service, beyond perhaps some bland and meaningless mission statement. However, such organisations seem to have very deep purses which has encouraged the practice of cherry-picking where the rights for broadcasting events, particularly though not exclusively in the sporting world, are bought by satellite television companies. Consequently, access to their broadcasts is not always free to those who desire it – expensive equipment, such as satellite dishes and decoders, must be installed and fees and tariffs for viewing must be paid. Lifelong fans who want to follow their sport are obliged to pay large amounts to watch their favourite games. Satellite television viewing is beyond the reach of many people whose financial resources way be subject to other, more pressing demands.

We are all well aware of the commercialisation of sport. Sports events are costly and sports stars look for huge pay cheques. The impact of the practice of cherry-picking on sport in England has often been devastating for ordinary fans. In certain sports, a fence of high costs has been erected for viewers and those who do not possess satellite dishes have to make do with bare snippets of the day's play on the evening news. Each screen displays in its corner the name and logo of the satellite company with exclusive rights to the event in question which has supplied very little detail to a terrestrial broadcaster for a huge sum.

There are some who would say that we are alarmist to think that this could happen in Ireland. People cannot deny that Ireland plays host to important sporting events with an international following, whether it be showjumping, golf or rugby. However, the danger also exists for Gaelic games which have a huge following not only in this country but also among Irish exiles in England, America and Australia. Many of these people are well off and can afford satellite reception equipment. They may be far from home but their local pride is undiminished by distance and they represent a perfect opportunity for satellite television companies.

The commercialisation of sport in Ireland is a new development. Sports of all kinds in this country have always been organised on an amateur basis, though this never implied that individuals or teams gave anything less than 100 per cent of their talent and skill. We are proud that some of our sports stars have been able to join the world of the professionals and reap whatever rewards are on offer. However, we must never forget that the vast majority of sportsmen and women, in common with their forebears, are part-timers and must seek their living in areas away from the sports field. This is a very important part of our culture and it is an aspect of sporting activity that is alien to the international broadcasting companies which are more accustomed to purely professional sports.

Terrestrial broadcasters such as RTE, BBC and UTV have done a very good job in recent years in ensuring that those who cannot attend sporting fixtures in person are able to sense some of the excitement, albeit at long distance. There has been a welcome increase in coverage of provincial championship games, particularly in Ulster, by RTE, UTV and the BBC. For over 60 years these stations have offered people a choice. In the 1930s few people owned cars but there were those who would give us every means possible to attend a sporting fixture if their team was taking part. This was especially true of Gaelic football when the appearance of a team in the All-Ireland finals brought people to Dublin from the furthest recesses of Clare, Mayo, Kerry and Cavan – in the past my county's team used to appear in Croke Park on a regular basis. For those who did not have the energy to travel, coverage was provided on radio. Receivers were expensive to buy and just as expensive to run. However, those who were fortunate enough to own such an advanced piece of technology would throw their homes open to those wanting to listen to a match.

Things have come a long way from the first occasion on which Cavan took part in an All – Ireland championship in 1933. However, the choice between attending a sports fixture in person or participating from afar still remains. Increased car ownership means that the decision not to attend may be caused by a wish to avoid either traffic congestion or the good brisk walk necessary to get from the parking space to the sports field. Some people – I am not one of them – enjoy their favourite sport in a weatherproof environment. The armchair experts obtain all the answers courtesy of the strategic location of television cameras.

We take free television coverage of major sporting fixtures for granted. Thanks to this legislation and the Minister's work in this area, we will be able to take it for granted for a long time to come. The growth of satellite television causes understandable worries but it is a fact of life with which we must come to terms, facing potential dangers boldly and courageously and using legislation to protect our national interests, paramount among which is the well-being of our people.

The Major Events Television Coverage Bill will give the Minister for Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht and the Islands the power to protect designated events considered to be of major importance to society. The decision with regard to which events to designate will be taken after consultations with the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation as well as representatives of all others involved in an event, including venue owners, events promoters, sporting organisations, players and supporters, media organisations and broadcasters. The process will be at all times transparent because the Minister will notify the public of her intentions to designate an event before a ministerial order is made.

Once an event has been designated, it will acquire immense protection from potential poaching or cherry-picking. Such an event can then only be covered by a terrestrial broadcaster, relying on traditional diffusion methods such as land-based transmitters and cables. Furthermore, such a broadcaster must provide a free television service, charging no access fee for reception of their programmes to at least 85 per cent of the population of the country. The requisite coverage for qualification will rise to 95 per cent at the end of the year 2001. This is not a restrictive clause because the definition of the term "broadcaster" is not confined to single entities. Therefore, a number of broadcasters, even of quite a small scale, whose combined free-to-air coverage meets the required percentage, can qualify to provide coverage of a designated event.

It must be stressed that the intention of the legislation is to protect, not to shut out media organisations from covering any event or to dissuade interest in any event in this country because to do so would be short-sighted and unjust. We have had a long enough struggle to assert our identity in the world. Those who have helped do so are our sports men and women who have been ambassadors for many years. We cannot afford to be seen as hostile or to vainly ignore the legitimate interests of the international media. The Bill contains stipulations requiring those broadcasters who are granted the right to cover an event to make access available to all interested parties at acceptable market rates.

Some sports have a greater following outside Ireland, although the ups and downs of sporting fads can be short-lived. One such sport is cycling. In the heyday of the 1980s, when Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly were the leaders in world cycling, the sport had a major support base here. While cycling is still popular, particularly for recreational purposes, it does not enjoy the same near fanaticism it enjoys in France, Belgium or Italy. There is a danger that if a major sporting event with a small Irish following but with a mass following elsewhere was scheduled in Ireland, a claim that it should be designated because of its major importance to our society might be hard to justify. This Bill provides adequate protection. It incorporates the recent EU Television without Frontiers Directive, which prohibits any Irish based media company from trying to poach coverage of an event from a terrestrial broadcaster in another country.

Much of the discussion on the Bill and the designating powers it will grant to the Minister has centred on the protection it will afford sporting events. However, we must remember that these are not the only events which can be considered as being of major importance to society. We must think of the protection for live concerts by Irish rock bands, because pop music is yet another field where terrestrial broadcasters are under pressure from satellite channels. There is also the possibility that classical music concerts may have to be designated, because some classical performers have attained near rock star status and attract huge sales. I hope such success will also arrive for our traditional musicians, although it has arrived for some of them abroad. Surely such events, particularly when they embrace Irish artists, can be considered as being of major importance to society.

All those involved in events in Ireland can feel safe as a result of this legislation. It will grant us the power to look after important aspects of our culture. At times there is a tendency to see culture as being static, yet major sporting and musical events are as integral to our culture as any novel, manuscript or historical site. We have a consequent duty to protect them and that is what this legislation does. As a result, we can be assured there will not come a September when coverage of an all-Ireland hurling or football final will not be available to all of us. I congratulate the Minister on introducing this progressive legislation.

I am glad the Minister has introduced this legislation after a lengthy period of reflection. Members will recall that Deputy Michael Higgins introduced a Private Members' Bill some time ago and, while it was rejected by the Government, it contained many of the ideas in this legislation. Deputy Michael Higgins recognised that immediate advances in television technology meant that designated events needed to be protected urgently.

We have experienced a growth in coverage of sporting events from all over the world as a result of advances in technology. More is now known about American sports as people spend time watching a batsman attempting to break a world record in baseball or a player playing for high fees in the Super Bowl. I agree it is necessary to designate particular events.

We are concerned that the media is dominated by the American production of films. Films are being broadcast by the partnerships which have been developed between Sky and other major television networks in the United States. This is a great commercial advantage for stations. Every trick is used to publicise the products the people need to sell. We are small fry when it comes to publicity. The real value of "megasports", such as soccer, was illustrated by the attempt to take over Manchester United and other UK clubs. However, that has been parried for the time being by the British Government. I have no doubt that media corporations will try again to make such large investments. This legislation is, therefore, timely.

The Minister should consider using the Oireachtas committee system to consult our major sporting organisations. This would give them the opportunity to air their views and the relevant committee could then inform the Minister. We have already examined digital broadcasting and all the problems which might arise for public service broadcasting in particular. That analysis and the submissions made by the various groups to the committee were informative. It might help the Minister in her current dilemma.

The GAA is a voluntary organisation which wants to expand its infrastructure and to provide the best facilities. It would be loath to pass on a major advertising opportunity by designating its major events as free-to-air. One often reads in the national newspapers about major television corporations approaching the GAA with a view to signing a contract. I know RTE has had keen competition from other media organisations when the time came for the GAA to renew its yearly programme. I was involved in a voluntary organisation and am aware that the demands today are so great that it is very difficult to continually raise money for capital infrastructure. When people are in a position to earn money through advertising, they should be given the opportunity to do so.

In the beginning I thought listing designated events, such as the all-Ireland championships, would be simplistic but it was not until the arrival of my county, Clare, on the hurling scene that I saw the value of live coverage of the hurling championship from Sunday to Sunday. It is of great benefit to people at home, particularly the elderly, to have free access to such events. The leaders of these by and large amateur organisations will have some difficulty in implementing the Minister's ruling fully. That is why I offer the Minister the opportunity to use the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Heritage and the Irish Language for the public consultation process. It would be a better medium of debate and enhance the committee ideal.

Much of this work was undertaken after the Television Without Frontiers Directive, 1997, had been implemented. However, the Commission has been slow to identify all the issues and the meeting in Greece moved the process forward by producing a list that had already been drawn up in 1997. The Commission is being lax on this matter. I am surprised that other countries, which were vocal, particularly about public service broadcasting, at conferences held during the Irish Presidency of the EU seem to have gone to sleep since. People were concerned that the cultural and social life of Europe would receive priority on television channels and that this should happen when designating events. I do not understand why the Commission has been lax on this.

I am glad there will be a European Council meeting in Helsinki in 1999, but, nevertheless, three years have been wasted by not drawing up the necessary legislation to deal with this issue. A list of major events are held annually, such as the Grand National, the Aga Khan Trophy, international rugby and soccer matches, international swimming and the Olympic Games.

However, there must be a certain amount of North-South co-operation for this to work. The Minister did not reflect on such co-operation in her contribution. Northern Ireland began to develop the multi-channel format first and this is how Irish people got their appetite for other sports, traditional music and pop music concerts. Public service channels there had a greater interest in these aspects of the culture of the island. What is the position on North-South co-operation in regard to television channels? What agreement could be reached following the Good Friday Agreement?

Social, cultural and recreational events play an important role in society and they were of great benefit to the country when unemployment was high. People found that their involvement in sport was valuable to them in terms of their health. The ESRI recommended 3 per cent capital investment in social, cultural and recreational infrastructure as part of the national plan over the coming years. That involves a risk but there is a great need for such investment and I am glad that major organisations, such as the GAA and the FAI, are improving their facilities on a daily basis. That is why there must be balance in designating events and I ask the Minister to be sensitive about that when she draws up her list.

Voluntary organisers of sport have a difficult time trying to continually raise money. The State has a role to play both in capital investment and the way it assists such organisations. Sports organisations must also have an opportunity to raise additional funds themselves in order to progress and there should be a sensible approach to the issue. The Bill is timely and the quicker the issue is progressed the better. If the Minister wants to avail of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Heritage and the Irish Language for the public consultation process, she is welcome.

I welcome the Bill and wish the Minister well with it. I am not well briefed on it but I am aware of what it proposes to do and that the Minister is a major fan of social and cultural events. She should listen to the good advice of my colleagues, Deputies Kenny and Carey. Deputy Carey has been advising her for many years on different aspects of broadcasting and politics.

It is important that major sporting, cultural and social events are exempted from paid transmission by Sky and other broadcasting corporations which are trying to take over the running of these events throughout the world. There are a number of Irish events which are of national and international importance and should be considered by this Bill. The GAA, FAI and IRFU stage events which have an international dimension. Those events have been part of Irish culture and society for many years and should be guarded against broadcasting organisations seeking to impose pay per view conditions on their transmission. I refer to events such as the All-Ireland intercounty and club finals.

Athletics is another area that should be considered. The World Cross Country Championships have been run in this country before and no doubt will be run here again. This legislation should address the possibility of broadcasting companies trying to buy that event.

I watched Sky television last week and was surprised to see "Don't Feed The Gondolas", a late night satirical programme on RTE presented by Sean Moncrieff. I presume Sky bought the rights from RTE. The Minister should look at this matter. Mr. Moncrieff was a classmate of mine and has done excellent work in broadcasting, but when I saw him on an international channel I felt the next thing one might see would be "Oireachtas Report" on a German channel. It might be in the Minster's interest to have "Oireachtas Report" covered by the legislation.

Is it a sport?

It is a good spectator sport.

It is a blood sport.

No blood has been spilt yet, but it may be next week.

This legislation is very important and the public is very interested in it. People feel that if they do not have money they will not be provided with coverage of many sporting events they wish to see. If EU Governments do not take this initiative on board many people will not be able to watch the sporting, cultural and social events they are interested in. I look forward to a speedy passage of the Bill.

This legislation is hugely important because we are such a sports-minded race. We do not just participate but we watch sports at great length. It would be very difficult for the general public to accept that money can dictate what can or cannot be seen.

Many people have very limited television reception. Ms Etain Doyle, the telecommunications regulator, has promised for some time to license deflector systems and to provide an acceptable system to people all over the country. However, that is not how things stand. Huge numbers of people in rural Ireland can only receive RTE 1, Network 2, Teilifís na Gaeilge and TV3. Many of them cannot receive BBC or ITV let alone the Sky or paid channels. This country is divided when it comes to television reception. Those in the pale and on the east coast have access to all the channels through Cablelink or other systems by virtue of their geographic location. Those in the south and west, however, are cut off. If they do not have a Cablelink system in their immediate area, such as in a large town, they are confined to a few channels. It is imperative that something is done for them.

I am delighted that the European Commission has huge powers in this area. I had come to the conclusion long ago that money spoke for everything and everybody. I am glad to see that Sky cannot dominate the air waves. The Council of Ministers, of which the Minister is a member, and the Commission have the final say and that is reassuring.

As the Minister said, there has been a revolution in watching sport. Some of the coverage is very welcome while more of it leaves us indifferent. The poor women of Ireland, the Minister's colleagues, must be bored out of their minds at having to watch football, cricket and snooker. However, women tell me that many of them enjoy snooker and have a particular affinity for studying the backsides of some of the world's famous snooker players. It is amazing what attracts people. Men are often accused of being chauvinists but it can be attributed to both sexes.

Women suffer from the fact that television is dominated to a large degree by sports coverage, whether that is coverage of Irish sport or on the British or Sky channels. If there is a male sporting fanatic in a house, women suffer. That is a fact of life. That is the down side to the huge coverage of sport, though some of the sports carry their own downsides. Unlike some people, I could not watch cricket all day.

A wonderful game.

I would not like to be glued to the television watching snooker for hours on end either. Some of my colleagues are golfers and that game can be compulsive viewing if one watches it for a while. It is certainly not conducive to happy relationships in a household if one person dominates the channels.

Sport reflects the mentality of a nation. Continental Europeans are fascinated by motor racing and tennis, while we regard those sports as exceptionally boring. Because of our history of nationalism, we prefer what I call blood sports. Not everyone would describe Gaelic football or rugby as blood sports, but I do and anyone who watched last Sunday's Munster championship hurling match between Waterford and Limerick will know what I mean. One could almost hear the bones breaking, feel the flesh bruising and see the blood spilling.

The Deputy should spare us the gory details.

We prefer field games such as hurling, Gaelic football, soccer and rugby.

And tug-of-war.

It is good to know that pay channels will not have a monopoly of sports broadcasting. With limited resources, RTE has done an excellent job in promoting sports, particularly Gaelic games. I am not an advocate of Gaelic football. The sport has seen better days and has declined since the days of the great Kerry team of the 1970s and 1980s. I hope the sport is not dying out, but it is not as popular as it once was. Television has given hurling an enormous fillip. This is the uniquely Irish game which dates back to the days of Cú Chulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhail. The Scots game of shinty is merely a derivative of hurling. Live televising of hurling games has boosted the sport tremendously. People from non-hurling areas have become addicted to it. It is a fearsome game that requires great skill and it is wonderful to see it promoted on RTE.

Australian rules football, which is closely allied to Gaelic football, is being promoted on one of the Sky pay channels. While tearing and dragging has diminished Gaelic football and has caused it to lose its popularity with spectators, Australian rules football is now a finer spectacle. If Sky finds it profitable to promote Australian rules football on a pay channel, it might only be a matter of time before the company expresses an interest in broadcasting hurling, which is a magnificent spectacle. Would it not be wonderful to have our unique game promoted worldwide?

Public houses are obliged to close between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday. Many Sky sports programmes, including major soccer matches, are shown at this time. The law should be changed to allow people to watch these matches in public houses. Recently, half the pubs in my own town were raided when Manchester United were playing an important game at 3 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. People who did not have access to Sky channels were watching the match in public houses. This matter is not being addressed by the Government. Five or six months ago, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform promised to review public house opening hours and to extend them by one hour. I hope Sunday afternoon closing will be abolished. Families are being treated as criminals for watching a football match. In years to come people will not believe such a situation could have existed. The Acting Chairman, Deputy Kirk, who was a noted County Louth Gaelic football player and a fine striking man in his heyday, will understand the implications of what I am saying. We should not penalise people for the harmless activity of watching a football match on a Sunday afternoon when half the population does not have access to it in their own homes.

I hope the Minister succeeds in her objective to curtail the pay channels and that RTE will continue to broadcast matches which are of great value to the public. Pay channels should not dominate our lives. Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch and those who own pay channels should not become billionaires at the expense of our culture. The motivation behind the Bill is worthy and I look forward to uninterrupted viewing at a reasonable cost which is not controlled by outside interests. I am not opposed to outside influences, but I do not wish to see our games taken over. There was a threat that the all-Ireland semi-finals and finals and the various provincial championships would be owned by the pay channels. This has now been eliminated.

I thank the Deputies who took the time to make speeches on this legislation. It has been a positive and useful debate in which Deputies expressed their views and concerns. It has also been good-humoured which is always welcome. There will be an opportunity on Committee Stage to discuss the provisions of the Bill in detail. I look forward to dealing with any amendments the Opposition is interested in tabling at the appropriate time.

Deputies have an appreciation of the issues involved and the importance of social, cultural and sporting events in our lives. There have been complex changes in the relationship between broadcasting and sport. As Deputy Deasy said, it is important that members of the public are not denied access to national sporting events on free to air services. They should not have to rely on pay per view channels, of which there has been a proliferation. It is in that context that the Bill is necessary. This is recognised at national and European Union level, particularly by the European Commission and the Council of Ministers.

Deputy Kenny expressed disappointment that I have not published a list of events that I intend to designate under the provisions of the Bill. I will enter the consultation process provided for in the Bill with an open mind. The Opposition would have been the first to say that it was unwise to produce such a list mirroring my own prejudices. I will discuss the matter with the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, broadcasters, events organisers and the public following which a comprehensive list will be drawn up. It should include major sporting and cultural events only.

Deputy Carey mentioned that the Joint Committee on Heritage and the Irish Language should have an input. I would welcome its views on the events that should be given priority in drawing up the list. Resolutions of both Houses will have to be made before an order can come into effect. This will provide the joint committee with an opportunity to make its views known.

Some events listed by Germany have been notified to the European Commission as follows: the Summer and Winter Olympic Games; European Championship and World Cup matches involving the German national team as well as the opening match, the semi-finals and finals of these competitions regardless of whether the German national team is playing; the semi-finals and final of the German FA Cup; the home and away matches of the German national team, and the final of any European club competition involving a German club.

There are two categories of designated events in Italy, the first of which includes events which must be shown live and in full. They include: the Summer and Winter Olympic Games; the World Cup final and all matches involving the Italian national team; the final of the European Championships and all matches involving the Italian national team. Events in the second category, where broadcasters are free to decide the arrangements of an unencoded transmission, include: all matches involving the Italian national team at home and away in official competitions; the semi-finals and final of the Champions League and UEFA Cup where an Italian team is involved; the Tour of Italy cycling competition, and the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.

Deputy O'Shea may be interested to learn that the Italians have included the San Remo Italian Music Festival in this category. There may not be too many cultural events which have traditionally been covered and which suggest themselves in the same way as certain sporting events but it might be suggested that the Eurovision Song Contest, for example, should be considered a cultural event.

Deputy Kenny asked how long the consultation process will take. For the process to have real meaning the Bill must be enacted. I intend to begin the process as soon as the Bill is signed into law and to allow every interested party to express his or her view. This will not cause any undue delay. It will be possible to amend any list which might be drawn up. I hope it will not have to be changed too often.

Deputy O'Shea referred to a Private Members' Bill introduced by Deputy Michael D. Higgins which sought to address, in addition to television coverage of major events, the question of media ownership generally. The Tánaiste is considering the question of cross-media ownership and has asked the competition and mergers review group to look into the issue. I understand the group has not yet reported.

The issue of sports organisers was raised by Deputy Donal Carey. I intend to ensure that these provisions interfere as little as possible with the market in sporting rights. That is why there is a reference to reasonable market rates in sections 4 and 7. I am well aware of the importance of this stream of revenue to sports organisations. The Deputy also referred to the importance of the North-South dimension in broadcasting. The new Broadcasting Bill, which I have just published, will enable me to require the digital television transmission entity to reserve capacity for Northern broadcasters. This power will be used if and when the British authorities introduce reciprocal arrangements for the carriage of broadcaster space on this side of the Border. That covers the issues Deputy Donal Carey raised.

I thank Deputy Brendan Smith for his very positive and solid contribution. Deputy Gerry Reynolds also referred to the fact that TAM rat ings might not be as high as they could be for Oireachtas Report, and I agree with him that some people could view politics as no less than a blood sport. Deputy Deasy referred to the importance of universal coverage and that indigenous channels are available throughout the country. That is important and is another reason it is essential to protect major sporting events for the veiwership of all.

I thank Deputies for their positive views. When in Opposition I introduced a Private Members' Bill on major events television coverage. It was accepted by the Government but, unfortunately, did not come to fruition under the last Administration so I am pleased this Bill is before the House.

Question put and agreed.
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