15 DFómh 2014, 13:33
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications has this afternoon expressed support for the retention of RTÉ's long wave service at Clarkstown, recognising the valuable connection it provides for Irish people living in the UK. RTÉ radio Managing Director Jim Jennings was addressing the Committee on the rationale for the closure.
15 October 2014
Chairman of the Committee John O’Mahony TD says: “The Committee is gravely concerned about the impending closure of RTÉ’s long wave transmitter at Clarkstown, and particularly, its impact on the Irish diaspora in the UK. We are particularly cogniscant of the loyal listenership among the older Irish in Britain. We were told that RTÉ is engaged in an extensive consultation with Irish community groups in Britain, and impressed on the witnesses that it is the sometimes isolated and vulnerable older Irish emigrants that may be most impacted by the closure. Acknowledging the advances in digital radio technology, a number of Committee Members advanced the view that many of this cohort would simply not be able to switch to newer technologies once the LW mast is shut down.
\"As a Committee, we welcome the annoucnement this morning that the scheduled closure has been pushed out to January 2015, and will not now take place on 27 October. While we heard that RTÉ has FM coverage to about 85 percent of the population in Northern Ireland, we are also concerned about the impact of the cessation of the longwave service on listeners north of the border. In the meantime, we request that all avenues to explored to ensure this valuable service might be retained into the future.\"
ENDS
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Committee on Transport and Communications
Deputies: John O’Mahony (Chair), Michael Colreavy, Timmy Dooley, Dessie Ellis, Tom Fleming, Brendan Griffin, Noel Harrington, Seán Kenny, Éamonn Maloney, Helen McEntee, Michael Moynihan, Patrick O’Donovan and Mick Wallace
Senators: Sean D. Barrett, Terry Brennan, Éamonn Coghlan, Paschal Mooney, Ned O’Sullivan and John Whelan