I move:
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £49,759 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1939, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí eile a bhaineann le Fóirleatha Nea-shrangach (Uimh. 45 de 1926).
That a sum not exceeding £49,759 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1939, for Salaries and other Expenses in connection with Wireless Broadcasting (No. 45 of 1926).
The amount of the Estimate for the broadcasting service for the year 1938-39 is £74,559, compared with £61,374 for 1937-38—an increase of £13,185. The increase falls almost wholly under subheads A (£2,095), B (£3,670) and F (£7,655). The extra provision is necessary to cover additional staff and contemplated increased expenditure on programmes and on plant.
The revenue from the broadcasting service for the current financial year (1937-38) will amount to approximately £102,000. The revenue for the coming financial year is estimated at £107,500 —£72,500 from wireless receiving licences and £35,000 from advertisements and miscellaneous receipts — an increase of £5,500.
The direct expenditure on broadcasting out of all Votes in the current financial year will amount to approximately £81,541. The revenue for the current year thus shows a surplus over expenditure of approximately £20,460. Commercial Accounts for broadcasting are, however, not prepared as in the case of the Post Office, so that in considering the financial position of the service it is necessary to allow, in addition to the Vote expenditure, for charges on capital expended on the erection of stations and studios — interest, depreciation, etc. If full allowance were made for these items, broadcasting would at present show a balance on the wrong side.
In my statement on the Broadcasting Estimate for the current year I stated that the revenue from licence fees was estimated at £60,000. The actual receipts will, however, be £70,000 approximately. This substantial increase is due partly to normal increase in holders of wireless sets, but mainly to a special campaign against defaulters which was undertaken in January of this year. As a result of this "drive," the number of licences increased during the months of January and February alone by no less than 27,342, of which 25,813 were new licences. The total number of wireless licences in existence on the 28/2/38 was 139,534 as compared with 103,320 on the 28/2/37, an increase of 36,214. The results of the campaign are extremely satisfactory from the point of view both of additional revenue and of bringing defaulters to boot and it is believed that the amount of evasion now existing is not of material proportions. The special publicity given in advance to the campaign proved immediately effective and I am glad to say that the number of cases in which it was necessary to resort to prosecution to enforce compliance with the regulations was comparatively small.
Two new positions were added to the broadcasting establishment during the year, viz.: Balance and control officer and gramophone librarian. The functions of the balance and control officer are, generally, the control by means of special apparatus of musical, dramatic, etc., programmes so as to secure fidelity of reproduction and the best results.
The question of the erection of a short-wave station for the purpose of communication with distant countries was under consideration during the year and it was decided, as a preliminary step, to install short-wave plant of an experimental character in the present high power station at Athlone. The experimental station will probably not function until about the end of this year or early next year, as the necessary apparatus will take a considerable time to supply and, apart from this, the outcome of the Cairo Telecommunications Conference will have to be awaited in connection with the allocation of a wavelength.
Provision is also made for new and up-to-date studio and control apparatus for use by the balance and control officer. This is a rescheduling, as the apparatus was included in the Estimate for the current year, but there has been delay in supplying it.
The number of players in the orchestra was increased during the year from 24 to 28. Improvement in the quality of programmes is the constant aim of the directorate and it is hoped that with the additional money which will be available for programme purposes next year the standard will be still further improved.
Nine symphony concerts were arranged for during the year, including four public performances in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. The attendances at the first two of the public concerts were disappointing; that at the third was satisfactory, while the result of the last of the concerts to be held on the 24th proximo is awaited. To what extent these concerts can continue to be given in public in future seasons will be a matter for consideration at a later stage in the light of the public interest taken in them.
The provision of a suitable short-wave receiver for the reception of foreign programmes is under consideration. Last year relays of concerts by Toscannini were arranged in collaboration with the British Broadcasting Corporation. Special gramophone recitals are now given not less frequently than once a week.
Irish is being used increasingly in the programme. The schools programmes have been rearranged after consultation with the teachers. That these programmes are appreciated by both teachers and pupils is evident from the fact that 400 schools now regularly take them as compared with 200 previously.
Broadcasting is a service which has to cater for an extraordinary variety of tastes and interests and it is obvious that it is not always possible to satisfy everybody. The director aims, however, at meeting the desires of listeners as far as he is reasonably able to and as far as he can ascertain them. It will be appreciated, however, that we have not here the vast and varied resources either of money or talent available to large broadcasting administrations, but I think that, taking all the circumstances into consideration, our broadcasting service is of a high standard and that it affords good, varied and instructive entertainment to listeners.