Today the committee will consider Supplementary Estimates for for the Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht group. Vote 42 covers the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and Vote 43 the National Gallery. I welcome the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and his officials. The proposed timetable is for a 15 minute opening statement by the Minister and 15 minutes each for the opening statements of the Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats spokespersons. There will then be a general questions and answers session and the concluding statement of the Minister, to be taken not later than 4.15 p.m.
Estimates 1996.
Vote 42 — Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht [Supplementary].
Vote 43 — National Gallery [Supplementary].
Is cúis sásaimh dom an dá Mheastachán Forlíontach seo don bhliain dar críoch 31 Nollaig 1996 a thabhairt ós comhair an roghchoiste seo. Tá dhá gné ar leith clúdaithe sna Mheastacháin Forlíontacha — craolachán i gcás mo Roinne féin agus costais foirne i gcás an Ghailearaí Náisiúnta — agus beidh mé ag déanamh tagairt dóibh ceann i ndiaidh a chéile.
Given the fact that there was a very comprehensive debate on my Department's Votes when I came before this committee on 27 June last, I propose in my statement today to focus on the two particular areas which are the subject of these Supplementary Estimates. Members of the committee will already have received a briefing note, in Irish and English, setting out the details of this Supplementary Estimate with some background information.
A Supplementary Estimate with regard to subhead K — the grant-in-aid to RTÉ in respect of television licence fees — arises as a result of the Government decision of 9 July 1996 to increase the television colour and monochrome licence fees by £8 with effect from 1 September 1996. My Department has been informed by An Post, which is responsible for the collection of television licence fees, that it estimates that, as a result of the increase, an extra £3.318 million will be collected in licence fee revenue in 1996.
Under section 8 of the Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act, 1976, I, as Minister, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, may pay to RTÉ an amount equal to the total receipts in respect of the broadcasting licence fees less expenses incurred in relation to the collection of those fees. To enable me to pay the additional revenues to RTÉ in 1996 a Supplementary Estimate is needed, increasing the existing figure under subhead K by £3.318 million from £52.018 million to £55.336 million. My Department's appropriations-in-aid are expected to increase by a corresponding amount, bringing total licence fee revenue to £61.913 million for the year. Deputies will be aware that the grant-in-aid actually paid to RTÉ under this subhead does not exceed television licence fee revenue net of collection costs.
Members of the committee will be aware that, prior to the Government decision in July, the television licence fee had not been increased since 1986. It is worth noting that if the colour licence fee had kept pace with the rise in the consumer price index since that last increase, it would now stand at over £81, or more than £11 greater than the revised fee of £70. In the same period the colour licence fee in the UK has risen by over 54 per cent and now stands at £89.50. The BBC is currently making a strong effort to secure a further increase of the order of £10.
In proposing an increase in the television licence fee to Government, my overriding concern was to ensure that RTÉ will be able to continue to meet its public service broadcasting mandate in a changing and increasingly competitive broadcasting environment. I have been concerned for some time at the increasing dependence of RTÉ on commercial income and the potential effect of such dependence on the ability of RTÉ to continue to meet its public service remit.
The recently published RTÉ accounts for 1995 show that licence fee revenue represented only 33.7 per cent of total RTÉ group income or 38 per cent of broadcasting revenue. RTÉ is dependent on commercial revenue in the main for the remaining 66.3 per cent of its income. In my view, if licence fee revenue were to remain static — a decrease in real terms — RTÉ's ability to meet its public service mandate would be seriously undermined as it would have to concentrate more and more on efforts to maintain its commercial income. The tradition of catering for minority as well as mainstream tastes in its programming would come under increasing pressure.
RTÉ is our national broadcaster and operates two national television stations, four national radio stations and RTÉ Cork local radio. It funds or contributes to the funding of various related non-broadcasting activities. In the increasingly competitive broadcasting environment, if RTÉ is to remain the preferred choice of Irish viewers and listeners, the cost of acquiring and producing programmes of quality will increase considerably. In addition, RTÉ must maintain and enhance its technical infrastructure if the technical quality of its output is not to fall behind that of its other broadcasting services.
One of the most noticeable features of RTÉ's recently published report and annual accounts for 1995 was that a deficit on broadcasting activities amounting to £2.35 million, as opposed to a surplus in 1994 of £3.45 million, was recorded. According to the chairman's report, this is due to the increasing costs of programming. In addition, commercial income is by no means secure. The ability of advertising and other commercial revenue to fund these costs in any circumstances is limited — it is a finite market. This problem is exacerbated by the fragmentation of audiences by the increasing number of services.
In my view, the deregulation of the broadcasting environment in Europe over the past decade has put the concept of public service broadcasting as developed in Europe over the previous 60 years at serious risk. I am convinced that, unless governments are prepared to support public service broadcasting in the current climate, the concept that has served Ireland and Europe so well is in danger. Among my fellow members of the EU Council of Ministers I have noticed an increasing concern of the effects of deregulation on public service broadcasters and, at the meeting in Galway in September of Culture and Audiovisual Ministers of the European Union which I organised as part of our European Presidency, there was considerable and strong support for the maintenance of the concept of public service broadcasting.
I am not convinced by the argument that, with the range of specialist services coming on stream, particularly via satellite, all tastes will be catered for and that the need for a service which endeavours to cater for mainstream and minority tastes no longer exists. The majority of specialist services will be available either as subscription services or as part of tiered programming packages and pay per view services which will be available only to the better off. Such an environment strikes at the heart of the concept of cultural democracy and discriminates against the weaker sections of our society. In these circumstances, I believe the Government must be prepared to demonstrate its commitment to public service broadcasting by guaranteeing a reasonable level of licence fee income to fulfil its mandate. I am satisfied that the increase of £8 in the television licence fee decided upon by the Government is the very minimum necessary to demonstrate this commitment.
Turning to the National Gallery, Vote 43, a Supplementary Estimate with regard to subhead A1 — Salaries and Wages — is required to meet the wages of temporary security attendants employed to staff recently reopened rooms following the completion of the gallery refurbishment in May 1996. Léiríonn an gá atá leis an Meastachán Forlíontach seo an beocht agus an bríomhaireacht atá sa chultúr faoi láthair. Faoi mar is eol daoibh, tá méadú mór tagtha ar líon na seomraí taispeántais sa dánlann agus is gá soláthar a dhéanamh dá réir ó thaobh tuarastal foirne de.
Until the recent refurbishment of the 1968 wing, the National Gallery of Ireland had 18 exhibition rooms open to the public. The refurbishment, costing £9 million, doubled the number of galleries to 36 rooms. Up to May 1996, the gallery had a total of 26 attendants, including a head attendant and three senior attendants. This number was sufficient to provide staffing for only 18 galleries. The National Gallery is open 361 days each year and, with consequential days off, the staffing of a security room, reception and cloakroom, and the cover required for lunch and other breaks, an additional ten attendants were required to open the refurbished gallery in its entirety to the public.
In the post-opening period, the Department of Finance gave sanction to recruit the additional ten attendants temporarily to staff the refurbishment galleries. It was possible to meet the extra costs of these posts from within the gallery Vote for a period of four months, from May to August 1996, due to savings made elsewhere. In September the Department of Finance extended sanction to retain the additional attendants until the end of December. The National Gallery did not, however, have the resources to meet the salary costs involved for the September to December period. Without additional funding, the gallery board was faced with no option other than to dispense with the services of these "temporary" attendants and close the recently opened rooms. The Department of Finance agreed that savings within the administrative budget of Vote 42 of my Department could be used to provide the required £50,000 to retain the ten temporary staff until the end of 1996.
The gallery has received a very favourable response from the public following its refurbishment. The visitor number of one million annually in each of the past five years had already secured the gallery the distinction of being the most visited cultural attraction in Ireland. Since the opening of the refurbished galleries, the month-on-month figures are up by one third again. The Clare Street project to extend the gallery with a new street front on Clare Street will provide facilities for international temporary exhibitions in particular. The gallery has also been fortunate in receiving gifts of paintings, including the magnificent Beit gift, the wonderful archive of Jack Butler Yeats donated by his niece Ms Anne Yeats, and most recently, the gift of five seventeenth century baroque paintings from Sir Denis Mahon.
Molaim an dá Mheastachán Forlíontach seo don choiste. Beidh mé lán-sásta, ar ndóigh, cheisteanna atá agaibh a fhreagairt comh maith agus is feidir liom.
I welcome the Minister to this afternoon's proceedings and extend the apologies of our spokesperson, Deputy de Valera, who is unavoidably absent due to personal business. She extends her apologies to the chairman and members.
I wish to develop the theme touched on by the Minister with regard to licence fees. The Minister referred to the increase and stated that the total amount due for the year is expected to be £61.913 million. Concern has often been expressed at meetings of the Committee of Public Accounts about the efficiency of collection of outstanding licence fees. Traditionally this has been carried out by An Post. The criticism has always been that a better effort could be made and a more efficient way of collecting a standing fee could be found. This would make a very significant contribution to developing the further ability of public broadcasting to develop locally based programmes; this issue has occupied us for some time.
RTÉ needs to concentrate on better home produced programmes. I am very committed to that because I am disappointed at the number of imported programmes on our public broadcasting service. Increased resources would help RTÉ to develop and make its own programmes but the commercial and private sector must also be supported in the production of good home based programmes. Considerable progress has been made in this area in recent years but I would like to see it developed considerably. It has been shown — I know the Minister is very supportive of this line — that excellent locally based programmes can be produced. Many fine examples of good solid home based programmes have been developed which can remove or dislodge the imported programmes, many of which do not necessarily suit our culture or climate. Their weaknesses are shown up on comparison with home based programmes, which tend to develop their own following. I hope that in reviewing the operation of public broadcasting the Minister will make his views known to the programme makers and that he will encourage RTÉ to develop the programmes to which I have referred.
It is great to see the continued development of the National Gallery to accommodate more of the fine paintings this country is fortunate enough to possess on behalf of the public. The reference to the Beit gift is significant; the county does not fully recognise the tremendous benefit it represents. It deserves greater publicity and greater encouragement should be given to people to see it given that they are the beneficiaries.
Given the need for the development of the National Gallery I understand why the Minister must employ additional staff. Security staff for the gallery is very important because of the nature of the exhibitions and the danger that individuals will damage valuable public property and paintings. The gallery has been very successful in protecting the paintings and exhibitions for which it is responsible. The further development of the gallery is to be encouraged and the provision of the necessary staff is most important. This is not an area where cutbacks can be made.
I apologise for the absence of Deputy de Valera who is abroad. Perhaps the Minister will bring the committee up to date on broadcasting. There is unfinished business to be addressed. The Minister has consulted widely and has obtained a broad range of views from various submissions. Perhaps he will elaborate on this.
Will the Minister comment on the perceived success to date of Teilifís na Gaeilge? There appears to be a positive reaction to it, especially from young people. This is to be welcomed and all concerned are to be complimented.
I represent two new satellite towns. The Minister has confirmed that he will support and fund a new arts centre in Blanchardstown. There is a necessity to bring art and heritage to these new, rapidly growing communities to give them a sense of history and belonging. I hope the sum of £1 million plus allocated in the Estimates will be put to good use.
The Dublin arts report, commissioned by the local authorities, made comprehensive recommendations. Valuable work was done and I look forward to the recommendations being implemented.
The need for a Department such as the Minister's was first recognised in the Henley report which identified that it was high on the public's agenda as an area of interest. There is now a much greater awareness of art and heritage. The Ministry was created when substantial funds became available from the EU to support the limited funding we could make available annually. This is having a tremendous effect around the country. Given that the greater Dublin area has a million plus people there should be a recognition of the need for activities, especially in the new and growing urban areas.
Major legislation is urgently required. I support the Supplementary Estimate and I hope the money being made available will be put to good use.
Ba mhaith liom freisin fáilte a chur roimh an Aire agus foireann na Roinne. Is fíor an rud atá ráite aige — tá an-beocht agus anbríomhaireacht a bhaint le cúrsaí cultúr sa tír seo faoi láthair agus tháinig feabhas an-mhór faoi gach teidil i gcúrsaí cultúr le blianta beag anuas. Ní híonann sin a rá, áfach, go bhfuil gach rud i gceart ná go bhfuil gá le feabhas an-mhór a chur i rudaíáirithe. I will try to develop that in the short time available to me.
I support the two Estimates. One is concerned with broadcasting and the other with the National Gallery. In his speech the Minister expressed his concern for the future of public service broadcasting, not only in this country but in other European countries. This concern is well placed, However, there is an onus on the Minister to introduce the Green Paper on broadcasting as quickly as possible. While we cannot limit influences from the outside in terms of broadcasting — we live in the global village — we ought to seek by way of public policy to do the best we can to keep in place what we have inherited, which is a very high standard of public service broadcasting.
When the Green Paper is introduced we can then discuss matters taking into account the submissions that have been made. We could then frame a new Bill with a view to progressing the issue. A number of things have been promised, but we are in limbo until the Green Paper is introduced.
Deputy Flood referred to the vitality and the talent available to local broadcasting. We must harvest this better for the future. There was a vague promise that Network 2 might be relocated to the provinces, where there is great strength, freshness and vitality. It was suggested that Network 2 might be relocated with Cork. I would be the last person to find fault with that.
I am greatly concerned about the position of Teilifís na Gaeilge and the Irish language in broadcasting. Matters are developing as we face the end of 1996. From the outset I have been a strong supporter of TnaG. When it was just a concept, I supported it and have done so at all times; I still do. Although our contrary timetable does not allow me to see as many programmes as I would wish, the standard of those I have seen have been excellent — excellent, sophisticated in production and very appealling. That gives me great confidence in the future of the station.
What worries me is how few householders have access to TnaG. I put down the question about six months ago to the Minister: would the majority of householders have access to TnaG? I was told yes. Last October the matter was again raised on Question Time and we were again reassured that between 93 and 95 per cent of citizens would have access to TnaG. That is not the case. " Tosach maith, leath na hoibre. "Is the Minister satisfied that enough research was done into the technical aspect of the station before it was put on air? It is grossly disappointing that 25 per cent of households do not have the aerials to access TnaG. They should have been told, in a proper marketing strategy, that they would not have access to TnaG unless they had the UHF aerial.
That shortfall should be put right soon. TnaG is well worth watching. It is documented policy from the Minister that the majority of citizens would have access to this service. He should take the lead in assisting TnaG to ensure the service is available to the majority of our citizens. It is also sad that some people with Cablelink do not realise they can pick TnaG up on the mosaic. That has not been sufficiently explained. Marketing needs to be improved. Teething problems are inevitable but we should have anticipated some of them and they should have been averted before the station went on air. TnaG has the most up to date technology in the world but there have been breakdowns in transmission during news bulletins and with the subtitles service. People with a limited knowledge of Irish may switch off and not turn back if they have problems with the subtitles. We should seek those people out as consumers for TnaG.
I also raised by way of parliamentary question the reduction in RTÉ's "Nuacht" bulletin on radio. There has been a 40 per cent reduction and the timetabling of "Nuacht" is erratic and irregular. That is a cavalier way to deal with "Nuacht". The Minister gave a guarantee that when TnaG went on air there would be no diminution of the commitment to Irish on RTÉ. That is not happening. We are at the end of 1996. Tá níos lú Gaeilge ar an meán cumarsáide anois ná mar a bhí i dtosach na mbliana. Is bocht an scéal sin. First, because so many people are debarred from access to TnaG for technical reasons and, second, because of the reduction of "Nuacht" on RTÉ. The Minister should address those matters urgently. There is only one more Question Time in 1996 and this is my last opportunity to make this case. I chose the Estimates, although this issue is not strictly relevant to today's debate, but I could not let the occasion pass because too much is at stake. Too much has been done to bring Irish to its present point to allow slippage. The Minister should remedy the two matters I have brought to his notice.
On the Estimate for the National Gallery, I am delighted with the refurbishment programme. It is a National Gallery of which we can be proud and it is good that it is open 361 days of the year. That is exemplary. It may not directly concern us here but at local authority level I register my disappointment that a number of municipal galleries are not open on Sunday, a day of recreation. If art galleries are closed to the public on Sundays, that means poor provision of access for the public. While the Minister has no direct responsibility for local authorities, a climate of public opinion should be created where management at local authority level would be challenged to put a system in place for galleries and libraries to be open on Sunday. We could then build a programme of recreation around galleries and libraries for young people and for families.
The most recent gift from Sir Denis Mahon is particularly pleasing. One of the reasons he made that gift was that he felt the conditions for exhibits were so praiseworthy. That should give us confidence in how our institutions are being run. It is imperative this additional provision be made for security because there is so much of value in the building. I agree with this Estimate and send my greetings to the staff of the National Gallery for their delivery of a fine service to the public and for making the gallery so popular. There have been one million visitors each year for the last five years but now the monthly figures have risen by one third. We can be proud of that. I send our compliments to the staff for their work.
There is now one hour for questions and answers.
A number of issues were raised which the Minister might want to address.
I thank Deputies for the very positive tone of their contributions and commitment to this area. I say that without being in the slightest way patronising. I apologise for my very heavy cold, I hope to quickly deal with some of the issues.
One issue common to what the three Deputies said, particularly Deputies Flood and Quill, relates to what is happening in broadcasting and securing the future of public service broadcasting, which we support and value. I say to the committee in an atmosphere of candour that when I went to the Council of Ministers for the first time three or four years ago two Ministers believed in public service broadcasting and the rest were in favour of the marketplace, which was the thinking at the time.
The difficulty is that our basic legislation dates from the 1960s when broadcasting was terrestrial and its jurisdiction could be easily mapped out. Hence, there was a real choice between regulation and non-regulation. What has happened in the last few years could be crudely summarised as a convergence of technologies, a concentration of ownership and a production capacity outside any one jurisdiction, particularly with the development of satellite and cable. Therefore, the State and its citizens have a different relationship with the technology of broadcasting than they had over 30 years ago.
The challenge for international legislators is to retain the quality at the core of public service broadcasting, including catering for minorities and a diversity of taste rather than being ruled by the market. Deputy Quill is correct, the quality of RTÉ was based to some extent on the fact it always had to compete with one of the finest broadcasters in the world, the BBC. In addition, it now faces not just conventional competition but also commercial competition.
We got about 130 replies to the Green Paper on broadcasting I published, in which I tried to list a set of questions at the end of each chapter. They focused on the issue of public service broadcasting and the marketplace by drawing a distinction between the broadcasting to which citizens had a right and that which consumers might purchase. That is a good distinction which covers the pay per view and subscription channels, which is one direction for the future.
I have prepared heads of legislation which will be soon ready to go to Government. If I get approval I will bring the heads of the legislation to the appropriate committees so that we can consult and work on them. That would mean we would have the legislation in 1997.
In relation to Deputy Flood's very interesting point, a question arises every year about the efficiency of the collection of the licence fee. I want to be very forthcoming with Deputy Flood. An argument is emerging in relation to the distinction between a public service broadcaster and components of public service broadcasting. I referred to RTÉ as the national broadcaster, which it is, and we believe in the concept of the public service broadcaster, which is why it gets the licence fee.
The present legislation establishes a correct statutory distance between the Minister of the day and the Authority. The Minister does not interfere in issues of programming and scheduling as that is the responsibility of the Authority. However, Deputy Quill is correct when she says that I informed the Dáil that the launching of Teilifís na Gaeilge should not be construed as a lessening of the obligation on RTÉ towards the Irish language, which is referred to in the basic Act of the 1960s. I told the Dáil that on the basis of my conversation with the then chairman and director general of RTÉ on the occasion of the Government decision to go ahead with TnaG. In a spirit of co-operation with the Deputies and committee, I will take the opportunity to raise the issue of RTÉ's meeting its obligations to the language at the next meeting with the Authority, which is the appropriate way to do it.
I agree with Deputy Flood's comments in regard to home produced programmes which earn the loyalty of viewers. Of course, they are more expensive. In a competitive regime where technology creates a huge capacity for transmission, programmes can be bought for £10,000 an hour but a modest production costs £40,000 an hour, with drama being even more expensive. There is continual pressure. According to the statement by the chairman of RTÉ in the 1995 report the cost of purchasing programmes has risen. Certain monopolistic practices are emerging internationally with people seeking exclusive rights on sports, archives and other material which also hikes up the cost of programming. I assure Deputy Flood we are at one on that but I have to keep my statutory distance in relation to the role of the national broadcaster.
I have dealt with the issue raised by Deputy Lawlor. As I said, I envisage having broadcasting legislation before the Oireachtas in early 1997. Subject to the agreement of Government, I would like to have consultation between the publication of the heads of the Bill and the actual text, which would be a way of meeting some of the points raised.
The Deputy mentioned the new arts centre for the satellite town of Blanchardstown. I am glad that was secured. Its allocation, in principle, was under the community development incentive scheme, which had a total allocation of approximately £19 million. Last Friday week we ran the third advertisement for the last phase, which will be about £5 million. Blanchardstown featured in the second allocation.
After we advertised the first round we received 170 applications with a value of about £87 million. The Arts Council examined their artistic components and Bord Fáilte examined their financial structures. A committee, on which bodies such as the General Council of County Councils were represented, finally looked at the regional spread and made recommendations. I agree with Deputy Lawlor that, although there is significant capital provision for bodies such as the National Gallery and the National Museum in Dublin, it would be unrealistic to assume that that caters for the suburbs.
In regard to receipt of the Teilifís na Gaeilge signal, I do not agree that advance technical research could have been better. When the decision was taken to establish Teilifís na Gaeilge I established a technical committee and a foundation committee. I do not want to confuse or mislead the committee about the figure I gave of 93 to 95 per cent of reach; there is, of course, a difference between the signal being able to be transmitted and it being actually received.
There has been an unsatisfactory level of confusion between different cable systems and about tuning television sets to receive Teilifís na Gaelige. I am working on this; my officials, RTÉ and TnaG are meeting to discuss how to put together an information campaign to explain how to receive the channel. A small amount of commercial opportunism also arises — some television retailers are telling people they need a new set to receive TnaG.
Ní gá?
Ní gá, níl sé teastáil. An rud atá tábhachtach is é go bhfuil ard-caighdeán a bhaint leis na chéad cláracha. B'fhéidir, go bhfuil na deacrachtaí seo ann tuisc go bhfuil an caighdeán den scoth is trua nach bhfuil sé ar fáil go foir-leathan go gach duine go bhfuil suim aici nó aige innti. We will drive forward with the information campaign and look at the question. The difficulties vary in different parts of the country and for different reasons. Perhaps we cannot have one strategy or we may need to fine tune the strategy suitable to the particular difficulties being experienced around the country.
On the last point, I will pass to the staff of the National Gallery the appreciation of the committee for its work. Perhaps the committee will find a way to address this in the future. Every penny spent in this area is well spent. I wish I had allocations for more staff and more of these initiatives because the public has demonstrated how interested it is in this area. It is one of our best hopes for the future that people of all ages, especially the young, are taking advantage of these institutions as never before.
One of my problems is that I must try to be prudent not only within the overall financial management of the economy but within the qualifications for entry to European Monetary Union, and there is a huge difference between a Department with all its baselines for staffing and expenditure established and a Department like mine where I am trying to move to appropriate provision. The Department has only been in existence for a few years and one must try to reach the base figures. I am, therefore, struggling to meet the mimima of staffing requirements before I could reconsider the relocation of a staff member. The same is true of practically every other area in terms of financing.
Will the Minister expand on the future of television and, say, pay per view? Given the trans-border aspects, advancing technology and the availability of a substantial number of channels, what does he foresee for the public service aspect of television? The commercial television cheque book has great power. Will RTÉ eventually have international link ups, similar to what has happened in the airline industry? I ask for his comments because this is a rapidly changing, complex, technical area.
I am grateful to Deputy Lawlor for raising this. I am a Minister with a definite view and it is not just my view; one of the strengths of the Irish position is that, to my knowledge, all the parties in the Dáil support — albeit for different reasons — public service broadcasting as a strategy. As I judge it, what is happening is interesting in terms of the state of technology, its interaction with citizens or consumers and the necessary legislation. While broadcasting was terrestrially based and evolved from radio to television, one could discuss the law within one's boundaries. With the arrival of satellite, fibre-optic technology, cable and the coming third wave of new services, the distinction between the televisual and the telephonic is decreasing. That is what I mean by saying we have had a convergence of technologies. This raises the issue whether the technology will serve an international entertainment industry or a set of international broadcasting needs. Internally the question would be, for example, how broadcasting needs in a diverse sense come to be respected.
One might take the question which I think Deputy Lawlor is posing —are there not significant events to which all citizens should have access, irrespective of their ability to pay? This leads to the question of exclusive sporting rights. The position could be that the other tendency I mentioned, the concentration of ownership, could lead to the purchase of a country's archive making it impossible for a broadcaster to have access.
What this means is that we are stuck with a fundamental question why public service broadcasting is important as an area of defence. Is it that the image which is broadcast is not a commodity like other commodities in the marketplace but rather an act of communication? If it is an act of communication it is close to being a cultural right. It is becoming difficult to defend that as the sea of commercial opportunities flows around one. No one is standing in the way of a people spending their money to see what they want and no one is trying to knock satellites out of the sky. In the broadcasting field, we are trying to ensure that access and use of radio and television are available to all citizens in a "free to air" way. This will become acute with digitalisation and when new services come along. Therefore it is important to see the television and radio broadcasting area not simply as an aspect of the marketplace — it is but it is not solely that. This is one reason Deputy Lawlor asked about the current position. These matters are complex given the Irish constitutional position but I will look at the questions of exclusive sporting rights and archives to see if I can legislate.
I could do other things but the flow is against us. Some 93 per cent of non-news current affairs film images seen on Irish screens are sourced in North America — in Britain the figure is over 90 per cent — and during the last five years it has not been less than 87 per cent in any western European country. We are seeing a considerable domination. To make a frank response to Deputy Lawlor's point, it is my opinion that the EBU has been significantly weakened in recent years and needs to be strengthened and there must be new alliances between public service broadcasters internationally.
I apologise to the Minister and the committee for exhorting him to publish the Green Paper on Broadcasting because it was published over a year ago. I meant to ask him to publish the White Paper but the Minister had said he was not going to do that. Instead of going forward, I went backward. I thank him for correctly interpreting what I attempted to say, which was to call on him to publish the legislation on broadcasting in order to formulate the public policy which would protect, in as far as it is open to us to do so, the best and highest standards in public service broadcasting. I am glad of the opportunity to clarify that. I am also glad about the Minister's response to the issues I raised about the Irish language on radio and Teilifís na Gaeilge. I am encouraged by the Minister's comments. It is timely that initiatives will be taken to alert the public to what needs to be done to enable them to access Teilifís na Gaeilge.
Regarding the enormous issue of public service broadcasting, an appetite is building up for better and more home produced programming. There was a good reaction to last night's document on the treaty. Most of us saw it five years ago but we all watched it again as if we were seeing it for the first time. It was a joint venture between Thames Television and RTÉ and the programme received great praise. Everywhere I went this morning people were talking about it. An appetite for that type of documentary is building up.
The success of the film "Michael Collins" has whetted people's appetites to revisit their history and the drama of that period. There is a growing market for better drama documentaries and music and these areas can be developed by public service broadcasting. If they are properly and well developed, it will be possible to hold the sophisticated Irish audience and the edge.
The Minister is making strong efforts to ensure that media education progresses on the school curriculum. They are the next generation of consumers of broadcasting output. Is the Minister satisfied with the position of media education in schools? Is it serving the needs which exist? Does the Minister consider anything additional is required?
Perhaps it is because it is coming to the end of the year and I have a cold that I can be more indiscreet than usual. I am always warned not to speak about other Minister's areas and the Deputy's point is a matter for the Minister for Education. However, it is an important point. I recently gave the Raymond Williams memorial lecture on BBC Wales. His work, The Long Revolution, examined the impact of printing. There were two ways of democratising books; one was by extending literacy and the other was some form of censorship.
A genuine concern currently exists in Europe among parents and others about what people are viewing. The fundamental structural way of ensuring a sense of discrimination in relation to new technology and its capacity is through media education. There should be much more of it. The surest way of getting rid of overdoses of gratuitous violence is when the viewer is in a position to realise that it is contextually stupid and unnecessary. However, how can a person arrive at that decision unless they had the opportunity of media education?
In reply to Deputy Quill, there is not enough media education and there should be much more. It is the best approach to handling the issue of tolerable viewing rather than technical shortcuts. It is fascinating to note what happened after the first deregulation of the media in the United States in the 1930s. It is interesting that, in terms of deregulation having gone mad and having had a whole series of unintended consequences, decades later people are trying to invent technical strategies for the protection of children. However, a simple short-term technical solution is not the way to deal with it. Media education is crucial for many reasons.
Deputy Flood mentioned the attraction of home produced programmes. These have a sense of narrative and structure and one of the points that has emerged from research is that, in instant programmes, time is becoming shortened. There is a type of voyeuristic character to the presentation of events. So much must happen within a shorter timeframe. In drawing from a wider cultural memory and sense of themselves, people are showing that they want and appreciate programmes which have structure and a narrative quality. The problem in relation to advertising is that the cost of an imported hour of material versus home produced drama is approximately four to six times less. Drama is expensive to produce but one of the justifications for a licence fee and a national broadcaster is that it can be retained.
In the context of next year's Estimates, will the Minister arrange to have the advertising for Teilifís na Gaeilge developed further? It will be in serious difficulty if it does not develop a much higher level of intensive advertising and marketing to ensure that those who would not usually watch a programme through the medium of Irish might be encouraged to do so and would be able to cope with it. It will suffer negatively if the advertising to develop Teilifís na Gaeilge and its programmes is not pushy, strong, interesting, active and aggressive. It is fine facility and I strongly support it.
There are three all-Irish primary schools and two all-Irish second level schools in the Tallaght and Clondalkin areas; there are active Cumann na Gaeilge branches which run social activities, such as music, song, dance and bar facilities, completely through the medium of Irish. Ordinary working class and employed people gravitate to those centres which are far from Gaeltacht areas. Will the Minister take account of this aspect in encouraging the advertising by Teilifís na Gaeilge? I do not get much chance to watch many RTÉ programmes because of my work — it is the same for everybody in public life — but Teilifís na Gaeilge does not appear to receive much advertising. It should have slots available on the national airwaves for considerable time to enable it to develop and to give it a fair grounding.
I am aware of the Minister's support for theatre. In my constituency, the Tallaght theatre in the hills has survived for 20 years. It is a tremendous facility and has almost completed building a new theatre in Tallaght. This will be a great advantage for the area. I am not sure if it received a grant from any Government and I ask the Minister to consider it sympathetically. They are reaching the fitting out stage and nobody would be more welcome in Tallaght than the Minister to perform the official opening or some other such noble activity.
I have never seen a document or programme saying we would encourage gifts to the nation for future generations and outlining how the gifts would be treated. Examples of gifts to the nation include the Hunt Museum in County Limerick, the Chester Beatty Library, Denis Mahon's gift, the Beit collection, etc. We would not be going as mendicants but if anybody wishes to give to the Irish people and for future generations, it should be made known that such gifts would find a ready appreciation which would be expressed by the Government of the day on behalf of the people. I do not know if the Minister is considering developing something of that nature.
The Finance Act, 1996, contains a provision whereby a person can make a donation and write it off against tax. There is an upper ceiling of £750,000 on the amount available in any financial year. There have been three or four significant gifts during the year and the indications are that the provision could be used more. It is an arrangement which could and should be expanded. There may be a formal representation from me to the Department of Finance.
I have already visited the facility in Tallaght to which Deputy Flood referred but I am a statutory distance from arts allocations because the Arts Council is independent of the Minister. However, I agree the facility in Tallaght is very impressive and it should proceed with an application. There has been an allocation to the multipurpose arts centre in Tallaght. The Deputy's point is well made; there is more than one Tallaght, so to speak, and the facility to which he refers is one to which the local people turn. I urge the centre to apply for funds but I do not interfere with such decisions.
As regards advertising on Teilifís na Gaeilge, there were a couple of ways of establishing TnaG. One could have amended the broadcasting legislation first, had all the money in advance and then proceeded. However, that would have taken much longer. At present the comhairle of TnaG relates to the RTÉ Authority. I am only involved in approving the number of hours, not in scheduling and balance. I will be addressing the future structure of TnaG in the broadcasting legislation. An independent body able to take such decisions as are necessary for the future is probably what will be most appropriate.
Deputies will have an opportunity to discuss the matter when the heads of the Bill become available. I have to get approval from the Government and I can then bring them to the committee to incorporate the opinions of Members.
Deputy Flood raised a good point when he said that TnaG could expect RTÉ and Network 2 to express more positive messages. That will be part of the discussion between RTÉ, TnaG and officials from my Department when they will be addressing the issues raised by Deputy Quill and others.