I have raised this matter because it deals with one of the most fundamental issues we, as a nation, have to address—the depopulation of our countryside and the magnetic pull of our rural communities to our cities, particularly those on the east coast where there are facilities which are not available to rural communities in historic centres.
In my county of Tipperary, we are proud that our rural communities have the deepest and richest sense of community values. We are proud that these values are based on self-help, community cohesion and a determination to maintain the population in our rural areas. This Adjournment Matter is geared to protect the Killenaule Community Television Company Limited and those who are served by it.
The areas to which the company seeks to have television signals retransmitted are some of the most historic and deep-rooted communities of Tipperary which have made us proud of their contribution at all levels, during the War of Independence and before it. I am speaking of communities such as Killenaule, Fethard, Ballingarry, Drangan, Cloneen, Botharlahan—famed in song and story—Kilcommon and Upperchurch. These areas cover what we call the Slieveardagh and Slieve Felim region of Tipperary. As the name suggests, we are dealing with what we are proud to call the "people of the hills"—people who are the very bastions of Irish value in society.
Killenaule Community Television is a self-help, non-profit making organisation concerned in protecting against the magnetic pull towards the cities because of the attractions available there, which in this instance, are multi-channel television facilities. Young people in Tipperary want access to the same television facilities as those in Dublin and Cork, although they are confident in the knowledge they are sufficiently strong in their own culture and proud of their own place. They are equally determined they should have a right to the transmission of channels such as BBC1, BBC2, UTV and Channel 4 at a reasonable cost and good quality reception.
Killenaule Community Television is community-based. It wants the right to retransmit signals to areas in the heartland of Tipperary. They have support in Tipperary from one range of hills to another. They submitted a formal application to the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Deputy Dukes, on 16 January, seeking his approval to establish a retransmission system in the UHF TV broadcast band to the areas of Killenaule, Fethard, Ballingarry, Drangan, Cloneen, Boherlahan, Kilcommon and Upperchurch.
Such communities are our richest resource. The quality and loyalty of this community organisation deserves a positive response from the Minister. There will be no demands from this organisation to provide heavy resources in terms of containing crime or otherwise, although there will always be isolated incidents. These are the best people who live in the heartland of Ireland and are entitled to ensure their young people say in that rich and valuable environment. What is available in our cities should also be made available to them.
