I raise this issue to reflect the outrage expressed by the people of Kilkenny city and county in relation to the broadcasting licence application to the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland by Kilkenny Community Radio Limited. A public meeting was held to address the issue, attended by almost 2,000 people who expressed their outrage that Kilkenny Community Radio Limited should be left without a licence and asked to close its doors next October. The radio station is a wholly owned community station and expresses the views of the community in every aspect of its work and all its broadcasting programmes.
The station comprises 2,800 shareholders, all of whom reflect community ownership, has 21 employees and a high listnership, reflected in various JNLR surveys. For example, yesterday it achieved a 63% listnership rate. Overall, it achieves a 81% weekly listnership rate. It has only been outclassed in the league by Highland Radio, Donegal. It is a successful model in terms of community radio stations and has a very sup portive customer base. Most businesses, not only in Kilkenny, but also some outside the county, use the station to advertise their products.
There appear to be flaws in the legislation that would allow a successful radio station of this kind, existing over 13 years, to apply for a renewal of its licence, admittedly to cover a different franchise area of counties Kilkenny and Carlow, and have it displaced by the granting of a licence to a wholly commercial operator. Having during the years built up its intangible assets of a good advertising and listnership base, the station would command a value of millions of euro in the open market. The goodwill alone would increase that value, yet the station is being asked to close down without any reflection on the value it has created for the local community. In view of this, there is a lesson to be learned.
I ask the Minister to review the legislation to ensure that in the future community radio stations as successful as Kilkenny Community Radio Limited are not overlooked by the BCI. I also ask him to consider the possibility of having a licence issued to a community radio station for the franchise area of Kilkenny city and county, established in the listnership profile built up by Kilkenny Community Radio Limited over the past 13 years. The station's licence submission to the BCI indicated that the franchise area of counties Carlow and Kilkenny was structured in such a way to ensure it could provide a proper community radio service for both counties.
The reasons for refusal of the licence by the BCI are questionable. It states it has reservations about the community structure, but no other community radio station in the country could compete with the structure laid down by Kilkenny Community Radio Limited. It stated there was a lack of representation on the board from County Carlow. That is not the case because, if granted the licence, the new radio station would have reflected a proper membership from counties Carlow and Kilkenny.
At a time when pillars of the community in both church and State have crumbled we should make every effort to ensure the Minister responsible for community development should take note of what is happening in terms of local radio stations. This wholly owned community station cannot be ignored. In drawing the Minister's attention to the issue I ask him to facilitate the relevant Oireachtas committee in bringing before it the BCI and Kilkenny Community Radio Limited to discuss what has happened in this case and realistically consider the issuing of a separate licence, if necessary, to create competition in this area.