The behaviour of the Minister for the Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Ms de Valera, concerning her plans for the establishment of a commercial digital terrestrial television system, along with internet and other interactive services, leaves a great deal to be desired. Clarity and decisiveness are necessary qualities in any system of management and they have been singularly lacking in this instance. Ms de Valera has actively contributed to the controversy, generated by reports that RTE would be excluded from participation in the new commercial entity called Digico, because of her silence during an official visit to the United States. And her contribution in the Dail yesterday did little to change that position.
Last summer, the Minister announced her intention to establish a new broadcasting infrastructure and the creation of Digico, in which RTE would receive a stake of up to 40 per cent in exchange for its transmission network. The process would require the public sale and subsequent upgrading of the network to provide for digital terrestrial television and a range of other services. RTE's share in the new commercial venture would be based on the value of its transmission network.
Difficulties arose in relation to the value placed on RTE's transmission network. An interdepartmental project management group, including a representative of RTE, selected a consortium of financial advisers led by AIB Corporate Finance to advise on and manage the project. The financial advisers are understood to have valued RTE's 100 transmitters on 70 sites at £30m/£40m, compared to RTE's estimate of £60m/£70m. The low valuation would have seriously depressed RTE's percentage share in the proposed Digico company. And the semi-State agency is believed to have strenuously protested against the sale of its facilities at what it regarded as a knock-down price, at a time when RTE was experiencing serious financial difficulties. In the absence of agreement on this issue, it is understood that Ms de Valera sought the advice of her Cabinet colleagues on whether RTE should be totally excluded from participation in the new company.
This morning, the Minister will meet with representatives of the RTE Authority to discuss the situation and to clarify her intentions in relation to amending the Broadcasting Bill, which is at present before the Dail. It is believed some of Ms de Valera's Ministerial colleagues are unhappy about the way in which she handled the matter. And the proposal that RTE should be frozen out of the new commercial arrangement is said to have had a unenthusiastic reception in Cabinet. It would appear this option is now in the process of being dropped by the Minister. In the Dail, yesterday, she maintained that no fundamental change in policy had been proposed to the Government but that, following consultations, she might bring the matter to Cabinet. It is all very unsatisfactory. Unnecessary and damaging controversy has been created. The Minister has a duty not just to protect the broad public interest in this matter but to ensure that the future viability of RTE and the morale of its staff are underpinned.