Vol. 279 No. 10
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he has received a complaint from the Griffith Avenue and District Residents' Association, Dublin, concerning the unsatisfactory nature of the service being provided by the two companies supplying piped television to the area; and the action he proposes to take to remedy the situation.
23.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs whether he is aware of numerous complaints made by members of Griffith Avenue and District Residents' Association, Dublin regarding the unsatisfactory television reception available to them; and the steps he has taken or proposes to take to remedy the matter without delay.
I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 22 and 23 together.
The only complaint I received from this association was about reception from two piped television systems serving their area. The statutory responsibilities of my Department for cable television systems are limited to licensing such systems and ensuring that operators comply with the conditions of their licences, including technical conditions.
So far as reception is concerned, the technical conditions attached to licences are designed to ensure that the television signals picked up at the masthead are not downgraded while being relayed to the service point in customers' homes, that interference is not caused by the system to other apparatus and that the system complies with safety requirements. I have no reason to believe that the two systems serving this area are not technically efficient and I do not propose to take any action about the complaint.
I might mention that reception from any piped television system depends firstly on the strength and consistency of the signals available at the masthead and secondly on the efficient relay of those signals to subscribers to the system. The quality of the BBC and IBA signals available off air at the masthead is, of course, completely outside my Department's control.
I understand that the two cable companies which serve the area in question have advised that reception on the two cable systems is satisfactory at present. They say that reception had been adversely affected by the quality of signals available off air but this has improved recently following (1) correction of a fault in the Divis transmitter in Northern Ireland and (2) connection of the systems to alternative masts where better quality signals are available. This latter step was made possible by the Government's decision in August, 1973, to revoke the 500 home limit previously imposed on cable systems.
Could I ask the Minister whether it is to be accepted from his reply that his licensing provision for such operators is related only to the strength of the signal received so far as RTE is concerned, or that it applies to outside stations as well?
It also applies to other stations.
Are there any steps the Minister's Department can take by way of threatened revocation of licences to operators whose service to their subscribers is not up to the mark, even though reception at the mast head may be quite adequate?
My Department would hope to deal with that matter rather by care in the granting of licences than by punitive measures afterwards, which, of course, affect not only the cable operators but the subscribers, and we have not had cases where the contingency contemplated by the Deputy has arisen.
While it is laudable that care should be taken in advance, where, despite such care, the results are not up to scratch, is the Minister prepared to just leave those and forget about them and merely care about those that come later?
The question which I answered, one put down by two Deputies, concerned the television reception available in a given area. If the Deputy wishes to put down either a general question or one about reception in another area, I shall be happy to try to answer that. I do not think it arises by way of supplementary on this.
I should be quite prepared to do this, but I would like to ask the Chair whether, in view of the fact that the Minister has answered a specific question in a general way, this will cause the refusal of a question of a general nature at a later stage?
There cannot be a broadening of the question.
I did not broaden it.
This is a recognised procedure. The question refers to Griffith Avenue and district in Dublin.
The Minister answered the question on a general basis.
That may be so, but it does not follow that the question may be extended.
Will this preclude a question on a general issue being asked later?
Question No. 24.
