Vol. 398 No. 1
150 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Communications if he intends imposing a "must carry" requirement on Cablelink, Dublin, to carry channels with programmes in continental European languages; and if not, whether he will consider such a proposal before he gives his final approval for the transfer of the majority shareholding in Cablelink from RTE to Telecom Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I understand that Cablelink are carrying a nightly programme of a mix of European language news services. The company state that they have received a positive response to this service.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Cablelink network, because it is a relatively old system, has a limited channel capacity. Therefore, pending the upgrading of the system — which I expect to see taking place when the system is taken into new ownership — only a limited number of services can be relayed. I think the choice of external services to be carried should be determined by the company having regard no doubt to the demands of their subscribers and their own commercial interests. In particular, I think it would be inappropriate for me in these circumstances to use my "must carry" powers in favour of any particular external or foreign language service.
