RTE plans to launch four new digital television channels with annual running costs of about £40 million, despite its lower than expected licence fee increase.
Station management is preparing proposals for a 24-hour news channel, an education channel and a youth channel aimed at pre-school children and teenagers.
A fourth channel, based on coverage of the Oireachtas, is also planned. This would include live broadcasts of Dail debates, committees and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
RTE hopes the 24-hour news channel could be up and running by autumn 2002, with the other channels coming on stream the following year.
The news channel would differ from competitors by transforming to a sports channel on the weekends, featuring live broadcasts of sports events of Irish interest.
The proposals will be submitted by November to the Government, which RTE hopes will sanction a new rise in the licence fee in the autumn of 2002.
RTE has expressed disappointment at the £14.50p increase set by the Minister, Ms de Valera, and some commentators have said this could affect its digital strategy.
In an interview in The Irish Times today, RTE's director of digital media, Mr Eugene Murray, says the running costs of the four channels will come to £40 million.
More than half of this figure would come from advertising, partners and content sales, with the remainder made up from the licence fee.
Additional funding for the channels over the first few years will come from cash reserves, obtained from the sale of Cablelink, and cash generated from its sale of the broadcast network.
RTE is in talks with the Department of Education to obtain funding for the education channel - expected to cost £25 million per year. The estimated costs for the youth channel are £4 million per annum.