THE Association of Independent Radio Stations (AIRS), wants part of the broadcasting licence fee to be allocated specifically to radio, with independent local radio being able to apply for funding along with RTE's radio service.
In a Budget submission to the Dail Committee on Finance and General Affairs, AIRS yesterday called for a new broadcasting authority, which could allocate licence fee revenue to fund specific qualifying services. This would allow local independent radio to apply for funding from the licence fee, which currently goes entirely to RTE.
The submission states that there should be no automatic right to this funding for either RTE or the independent sector. "In both instances proper costed proposals should be submitted to the relevant authority."
Based on 1994 figures, AIRS would be seeking £4.5 million for radio out of the £50 million collected. Of this, £1 million would be spent on an improved new and current affairs service, and £250,000 on removing the curb rent anomalies in transmission costs.
The balance would go to fund to enable stations to produce quality programming which they cannot finance themselves.
AIRS also wants the 3 per cent levy paid to the IRTC to be dropped, and funds from this licence fee be used for training and development.
In a separate submission to Fianna Fail, AIRS repeated it call for a "super authority" to merge the functions of the IRTC and many of those of the RTI Authority.
The submission says local radii needs to be strengthened because of the threat posed by media globalisation to the "country's cultural and linguistic identity an its impact on the nature of or democracy".