Oireachtas

FF dismisses multi-channel TV scheme as `con-trick'

OPPOSITION politicians sharply criticised the new UHF multi-channel television licence scheme as a "sticking plaster job to get…

By MICHAEL O'REGAN and MARIE O'HALLORAN
Wed Apr 16 1997 - 01:00

OPPOSITION politicians sharply criticised the new UHF multi-channel television licence scheme as a "sticking plaster job to get the Government over the general election".

Giving details of the scheme, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Dukes, said it would introduce competition in the "provision of multi-channel television in non-cable areas".

However, Mr Seamus Brennan, the Fianna Fail spokesman on Communications, described the proposals as a "con trick". The Minister was giving "dubious licences, for short-term deteriorating service at astronomical cost".

"This is not a scheme designed to solve the problem. This is a scheme to get you to the far side of the general election," Mr Brennan said. "it is squeezing out the community, deflector systems by stealth.

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His party colleague, Mr Brian Cowen (FF, Laois-Offaly), said the proposals were "unworkable".

Mr Bobby Molloy, the Progressive Democrats' spokesman on communications, said the scheme outlined by the Minister was a "pathetic effort to get this removed from the political

However, the Minister dismissed criticisms of the scheme and said "this matter has haunted successive governments for years now. It has been acknowledged to be legally and technically complex".

The integration of all considerations relating to the new scheme "has been a long and painstaking process and it has only recently become possible to bring the result of all this effort to fruition".

He said he hoped that applications for licences could be submitted by the autumn but once issued the licences would last no longer than December, 1999.

The Minister said there could be no guarantees that licences would be renewed after the three years and "it is likely that the quality of service provided to subscribers will deteriorate over time".

Applicants would have to submit a new application for each proposed transmitter site, they would be confined to areas of the country not covered by cable, under the new scheme.

Licencees will be obliged to pay appropriate copyright and royalty payments, have taxation certificates and comply with planning requirements, the Minister said.

The Fianna Fail spokesman said the Minister "hasn't solved the problem for the MMDS people and he most certainly has not solved the problem for the community deflector people

The Minister said "I am confident that reasonable people will agree with me that it provides the basis for a balanced and equitable resolution of the current situation."