Closure of RTE's medium wave service will have a negative effect
Issued : Wednesday 13 February, 2008
Deputy Liz McManus, Spokesperson on Communications, has expressed concerns that the closure of RTE's medium wave service, set to take place next month, will have a negative effect on people in Northern Ireland who currently enjoy RTE transmission.
The shutting down of the medium wave service has implications for the service to Northern Ireland. Parts of Northern Ireland, including the Falls and Belfast, rely on medium wave because the FM signal is too weak to reach them said Deputy McManus.
Cutting people off in Northern Ireland contradicts the ethos of the Good Friday Agreement. Tuning in to RTE radio medium wave forms part of the traditional cross border links enjoyed by many in Northern Ireland. It serves all ages and social groups.
At this juncture in our history, with closer co-operation between North and South, it is disappointing that this link from RTE radio will be shut down.
This decision also affects Irish emigrants, particularly those who were forced to leave during harder times, and they must be given assistance to manage this change and keep their radios tuned in to our national broadcaster. They must not be left behind during this modernisation programme by RTE.
There are many who would have preferred RTE to have postponed the switch off until it begins broadcasting in digital. Medium wave should be recognized as an integral tool in the strategy toward digital radio.
I will be asking the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications to invite RTE to come in to discuss this matter in full. I will also be writing to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on this matter.”
This matter should also be debated by the Committee established by the Oireachtas to oversee progress on the Good Friday Agreement. Denying people in Northern Ireland access to our national broadcaster service is a step backwards. Denying emigrants in Britain the same access compounds an injustice to many of them who were forced to leave out of economic necessity”.
