Sir, - Mark Deering (August 23rd) laments the absence in Irish legislation of a public service remit for RTE. But surely he must be aware that such a remit has been articulated many times in national and European green papers and other policy documents and now occupies a central position in the government's new Broadcasting Bill, published in June 1999. The licence fee shall be used by RTE "to provide a comprehensive range of programmes, in the Irish and English languages, that reflect the cultural diversity of the whole island of Ireland and include programmes that entertain, inform and educate, provide coverage of sporting and cultural activities and cater for expectations of the community generally as well as members of the community with special or minority needs and which, in every case, respect human dignity; to provide programmes of news and current affairs in the Irish and English languages, including programmes that provide coverage of proceedings in the Houses of the Oireachtas and the European Parliament; to facilitate or assist contemporary cultural expression."
Far from lacking accountability, RTE will be required to make an annual financial report to the Minister on the use it has made of the licence fee, to those enhancing mechanisms of reporting to the people's elected representatives (Cabinet, Minister, Joint Oireachtas Committees) and to the people directly in its series of public meetings that take place across the country.
Is the licence fee therefore a weapon allowing RTE to compete unfairly with private sector operators, such as TV3, or is it appropriate remuneration for providing a universal service? TV3 is allowed much greater advertising minutage per hour, which it can transform into revenue, and it enjoys extremely light-touch regulation of its output. There is no requirement for a "comprehensive range" of programmes, nor for much more than a token amount of material produced in Ireland. Yet it joins the list of other European private television companies which have been complaining to the Commission for several years about "unfair competition" and "levelling the playing pitch".
Instead of incessantly complaining about unfair competition, there is another way. Private broadcasters should thank the gods for the huge freedom from regulation that they have been given, compared with their colleagues in the public sector. They should commit themselves to being in broadcasting for the long haul and accept the need for robust investment in what is a very expensive industry. Irish audiences have a huge appetite for Irish-made programmes, and revenue follows large audiences.
There is room for a profitable alternative to RTE in several areas of programming but it will take a long-term commitment by TV3 to adequate investment in Ireland, rather than attacking public broadcasting, to realise the potential that was promised when the idea of private television was first mooted in this country. - Yours, etc.,
Farrel Corcoran, School of Communications, Dublin City University, Dublin 9.