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.