Vol. 466 No. 6
69 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht his views on whether the maximum available funding will be drawn from various EU programmes to assist in the establishment and operation of Teilifís na Gaeilge; the approaches, if any, he will be making in this regard to his EU colleagues during Ireland's forthcoming Presidency of the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12113/96]
I am not aware of any EU schemes for which general funding would be available to my Department for the construction of the technical infrastructure for, or the operation of, Teilifís na Gaeilge. I am aware that Teilifís na Gaeilge is investigating the possibility of securing funding under various schemes for some elements of the new service, for example, the revoicing of bought-in material, subtitling and training. However, funding under such schemes is paid directly by the Commission to the applicant, which may be the station or the producer involved, and I or my ministerial colleagues within the EU have no direct role in such matters.
I am of course prepared to support Teilifís na Gaeilge's efforts in this regard as the opportunity arises.
