This Bill is concerned with broadcasts which are intended for general reception and are transmitted from unauthorised stations installed or maintained on board ships, aircraft, or any other objects or structures. It has been introduced in furtherance of a Council of Europe Agreement for the prevention of such broadcasts. That Agreement was signed on behalf of Ireland and eleven other countries. Six of these countries, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Norway and Sweden, have already passed legislation to implement the Agreement and Finland, though not a member of the Council of Europe, has passed legislation towards the same end.
The Preamble to the Agreement reads as follows:
The member States of the Council of Europe signatory hereto,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members;
Considering that the Radio Regulations annexed to the International Telecommunication Convention prohibit the establishment and use of broadcasting stations on board ships, aircraft or any other floating or airborne objects outside national territories;
Considering also the desirability of providing for the possibility of preventing the establishment and use of broadcasting stations on objects affixed to or supported by the bed of the sea outside national territories;
Considering the desirability of European collaboration in this matter;
Have agreed as follows:
The Agreement then sets out what each Contracting Party undertakes to do, that is to say, to make punishable as offences, in accordance with its domestic law, the establishment or operation of pirate broadcasting stations, as well as acts of collaboration knowingly performed. These acts are defined as including among other things the provision of any equipment, supplies or services to facilitate pirate broadcasting.
Senators will no doubt be familiar, in a general way at least, with the background to this European Agreement. Broadcasting as we know it would quickly become chaotic and impossible in the absence of orderly allocation and use of the wavelengths available. Since transmissions in one country can cause serious interference with reception in another, the allocation and use of wavelengths is governed by international agreements and regulations. The competent international body in this field is the International Telecommunication Union, which is a specialised agency of the United Nations, comprising over 130 member-states. The Radio Regulations annexed to the International Telecommunication Convention prescribe the procedures which member-countries are required to follow before they use frequencies in those bands of the spectrum used for long distance communication and for broadcasting. These procedures are intended to avoid or at least minimise harmful interference between the radio services of sovereign States. For this purpose it is essential that all radio transmitting stations—whether on land, on a ship or in an aircraft—be either operated or licensed by a Government. They are then subject to Government control and if any of them causes serious interference to services in another country, the matter can be taken up through official channels.
I should like to make it clear at this stage that the radio services and the procedures to which I refer cover much more than the broadcasting services. Radio frequencies are used for point-to-point radio communication, for maritime and air navigation, for life saving services, various mobile services, et cetera, as well as broadcasting to the general public.
So far as the broadcasting services are concerned, there is, as everyone knows, interference in the long and medium wavebands. This is unfortunately unavoidable at this stage owing to historical and other causes which it is not necessary to go into here. But it is important to realise, first, that additional stations cannot improve the general position and, secondly, that additional stations operating on whatever powers and frequencies private owners may choose themselves to use for commercial gain, are a menace, not only to broadcasting services generally but to other radio services, particularly those connected with safety of life.
The operation of broadcasting stations on ships or from aircraft is expressly prohibited by the International Radio Regulations. Broadcasting in this context means the transmission of programmes directly to the general public—not the operation of ordinary ship radio required for communication with other ships and with shore stations, for navigation purposes et cetera.
The irregular broadcasting with which we are now concerned started a few years ago with the appearance of pirate broadcasting stations on ships off the coasts of a number of northern European countries. These stations ignored the international agreements and regulations and appropriated to themselves any wavelengths which suited their purposes. A matter of the gravest concern was the fact that their irregular transmissions affected the distress frequencies used by ships, lighthouses and coast stations. We had some experience of this in our own territory when pirate broadcasting ships were operating off the British coast.
Pirates operating outside territorial waters are not subject to the laws, obligations and restraints applicable to legitimate businesses. I have in mind such provisions as the laws of libel and sedition, performing rights, conditions of employment and contracts. I understand that in their operations pirates tend to regard the property of creative artists and copyright property are theirs for the taking. It is not irrelevant in our particular circumstances that we are anxious to complete the building up of a healthy broadcasting organisation of our own from licence and advertising receipts and we would not welcome unfair and illegal competition for any part of that revenue. Neither do we wish to suffer interference which might seriously impair reception of the Irish programmes.
The Bill before the Seanad will enable the Government to deal effectively with any pirate broadcasting station within our territorial limits or from our waters. Sections 2 and 3 make all such broadcasting unlawful and also broadcasting from Irish registered ships or aircraft operating anywhere. The owner and master of a ship or aircraft and everyone operating or participating in the working of the station can be found guilty of offences. These sections are also aimed at agents or companies on shore that assist or procure such broadcasts.
Power is being taken in section 4 of the Bill to deal with Irish nationals if they operate broadcasting apparatus from any foreign ship or aircraft on or over the high seas or from marine structures or other objects on those seas. It will be an offence for anyone in the State, whatever his nationality, to arrange for any such broadcast.
Sections 5 and 6 list "acts of collaboration" which become offences under the Bill. It will be an offence to aid in any way the setting-up or operation of pirate stations by provisioning them, transporting goods or persons to or from them, or participating in any way in their broadcasting activities. Section 7 deals with the question of penalties. The phrase "knowing or having reasonable cause to believe" is liberally scattered through these sections in relation to these acts and is very relevant. Section 8 is a saver to cover the situations that can arise in which succour and aid become necessary owing to distress, shipwreck or illness, and section 9 is another saving clause for what may be expressly authorised by licence.
As Senators will observe, the provisions of the Bill are so drafted as to be complementary to similar legislation by other countries, without avoidable overlapping. Thus they are aimed at acts including acts of collaboration committed by anyone, irrespective of nationality, within the jurisdiction, that is to say, in our waters or in our ships or aircraft wherever they may be; and also acts committed by Irish citizens on or over the high seas. They are not aimed at acts by anyone, Irish or foreign, that are committed in the jurisdiction of another country.
The pirate stations appear to have attracted a certain amount of misplaced sympathy in certain quarters but it must not be forgotten that the companies and persons responsible for them are motivated by nothing more or less than commercial gain, and that their activities are a serious threat to a number of institutions and rights which are clearly entitled to our protection. These activities appear to be suspended at present and the purpose of the Bill is to ensure that they will not be resumed. There is little doubt that, if we did not ratify the European Agreement, ships carrying pirate stations would soon operate off our shores. It is probable that our announcement of our intention to promote this legislation and the subsequent introduction of this Bill have discouraged any attempt to take advantage of the existing legal position.
The Bill is required to honour our obligations under the Council of Europe Agreement, to safeguard the effectiveness of our distress and rescue organisations and emergency communications, to protect the rights of artists, performers, et cetera, and the revenue of our own broadcasting service. It is aimed, not at “pop” or any other kind of programmes, but simply at unregulated broadcasting by people responsible to nobody but themselves.
I therefore recommend the Bill to the House.
