Eamon Gilmore
Ceist:75 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the date for the publication of legislation in relation to digital broadcasting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6893/99]
Written Answers. - Digital Broadcasting.
As I have stated in replies to previous questions on this matter a Bill is being drafted at present to provide for a statutory regime which will faciltate the early introduction in Ireland of digital broadcasting services, in particular digital terrestrial television. The draft text of the Bill is at a very advanced stage of preparation at present and has been the subject of consultation by my Department with RTE, the Independent Radio and Television Commission and the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation. I had hoped that it would have been possible to publish the Bill before the end of March. However, the matters to be addressed in the Bill are complex in that the Bill will be the first comprehensive piece of broadcasting legislation for ten years and must provide for broadcasting structures into the next century at a time when the parameters within which broadcasting has operated for over 70 years are undergoing fundamental change. Accordingly, finalising the details of the draft Bill with the Attorney General's office is a difficult and time consuming process. At this stage I believe that an April publication date is more likely.