Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2022
218. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if her attention has been drawn to the widespread concerns at present in Northern Ireland in relation to limited access to RTÉ channels for many viewers with further difficulties emerging with the availability of television streaming services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38256/22]
View answerUnder Section 114(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 2009, RTÉ are required to offer a free to air service to the whole community on the island of Ireland. Under Section 98 of the Act, RTÉ are independent in the pursuance of these objects. All Irish public service TV channels are widely available in Northern Ireland, including via Saorview, Freeview, Sky, and cable provider Virgin Media, and are available online through the RTÉ player.
RTÉ offers a television streaming services in respect of its channels through the RTÉ Player, which may be accessed online. RTE has made available information to the public which states that difficulties in accessing the RTÉ Player in Northern Ireland may arise due to the location of the Internet Protocol address that has been assigned to Northern Ireland residents by their Internet Service Provider (ISP). In this case, RTÉ has advised Northern Ireland residents to contact their ISP to resolve the issue.
In the case of sporting events, sporting bodies decide how broadcasting rights are allocated across the different territories and my Department has no role in this regard. Broadcasting rights are a commercial matter for negotiation between individual sporting bodies and the broadcasters.
