Sligo county councillors voted unanimously yesterday for the immediate implementation of an appeals process with regard to the allocation of local radio licences.
The vote followed one of the largest protest rallies in the region for decades, when 7,000 people gathered on Sunday to support a campaign called Save Our Station (SOS).
Councillors have called on the Communications Minister, Mr Dermot Ahern, "to implement the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications as a matter of urgency".
Cllr Declan Bree (Lab) said: "The Joint Oireachtas Committee Report on Communications has called for the establishment of an independent non-judicial appeals mechanism which would adjudicate on complaints against the Broadcasting Commission with regard to licensing and re-licensing.
"It highlights the need for greater transparency in the decision of the BCI and states that the automatic roll-over of licences should be considered where holders of local radio licences are in general compliance with their broadcast contract."
The chief executive of North West Radio (NWR), Mr Paul Claffey, said: "Sunday's protest was the result of a huge groundswell of support by our listeners, who have literally jammed our telephone lines since the BCI decision favoured Ocean FM. The SOS campaign was set up totally independently of the station."
According to Mr Claffey NWR is "at an advanced stage of formally challenging the allocation of the franchise" to Ocean FM, a consortium of business interests which includes footballer Packie Bonner and Sunday World journalist Paul Williams.
Last February Ocean FM caused a furore among NWR's listenership when its market research dubbed them "old, lacking aspiration, conservative, retired, unemployed and coming from a lower social class".
Further debate ensued when the consortium was awarded the franchise in April. Having failed to reach a quorum at the prescribed meeting, the BCI awarded the licence after a tied vote of three for and three against demanded the casting vote of the chairman, Mr Conor Maguire.