The British and Irish governments plan to begin broadcasting TG4 from Belfast in the spring to extend the reach of the Irish-language channel to Northern Ireland's 167,000 Irish speakers.
The broadcasting deal is one of the last remaining provisions contained within the Belfast Agreement to be implemented by the two governments.
As part of that agreement in 1998, both governments agreed to "explore urgently the scope for achieving more widespread availability of Teilifís na Gaeilge in Northern Ireland".
The proposed international agreement between the British and Irish governments will enable TG4 to be broadcast from an analogue transmitter on Divis mountain, which overlooks Belfast, enabling all parts of the city and most of Northern Ireland to receive TG4 on standard television sets.
The communication company NTL has been awarded the contract to operate the Northern Ireland service and a planning application for the transmitter has recently been submitted for approval.
Both governments have agreed a suitable analogue channel on which TG4 can broadcast and have agreed to finance set-up costs of €130,000 and annual running costs of €23,000.
A spokesman for the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, said yesterday the Minister hoped to be in a position to announce the official start-up date shortly and sign the necessary international agreement with the Northern Ireland Office.
Up until now, people living in many areas of the city have been unable to receive TG4, despite the recent strengthening of the RTÉ transmitter signal at Clermont Cairn, near Dundalk.
Irish-language lobby groups such as the Ultach Trust have argued for several years for the extension of TG4 to Northern Ireland. In the 2001 census in Northern Ireland, 167,000 people said they had a knowledge of the Irish language, suggesting there is an audience for the channel.
Mr Aodhán Mac Póilín, director of the Ultach Trust, said he welcomed the extension of TG4 to Northern Ireland, which would open the doors for all communities to watch the channel. He said it was not something that would be forced on communities but would be an "opt in" opportunity for people to watch the channel.
TG4's deputy chief executive, Mr Pádhraic Ó Ciardha, said the channel was looking forward to extending its service in Northern Ireland on a number of platforms, including satellite and cable.
It is understood that TG4 and RTÉ are also involved in detailed negotiations with British broadcasters and international firms that hold the copyright for overseas programming to enable both channels to be broadcast on the Sky satellite platform in Northern Ireland. Up until now both channels have failed to persuade copyright holders to allow them to broadcast in Northern Ireland without paying extra copyright fees. But it is hoped these negotiations could soon be concluded.