Seymour Crawford
Ceist:20 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the steps, if any, he proposes to take to financially secure local radio stations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Local Radio Stations.
The Programme for a Partnership Government, 1993-1997 states, in relation to local radio that “our policy will be to ensure that Irish TV and Radio Programming is of the highest quality and that it remains the preferred choice of a majority... by ... measures to ensure that commercial local radio broadcasting remains viable.” I should stress that this is not a commitment to financially secure each individual independent radio station.
As the Deputy is aware, I hope to publish a Green Paper which will address the structure of Irish broadcasting in its entirely in the near future. Issues relevant to the local radio sector will be addressed in the Green Paper.