Ireland
[IE] Broadcasting Developments Regarding TG4 and DTT
IRIS 2005-10:1/30
Marie McGonagle
School of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway
The Broadcasting Act 2001 (see IRIS 2001-4: 9) made provision for the Irish-language television station, TG4, to become independent of RTÉ, the national public service broadcaster. TG4 had been established under the legislation governing RTÉ. The move towards independence has now begun with the appointment by Government of consultants to develop an implementation plan.
The Government has also announced its plans to pilot Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in Ireland. The introduction of DTT in Ireland was provided for in the Broadcasting Act 2001 (see IRIS 2001-8: 11) However, initial attempts to introduce DTT were unsuccessful due to lack of interest and uncertainty as to its viability. The pilot scheme announced in June is limited to Dublin and eastern counties but will later be extended. Due to the delays the Government has not yet given a definite date for the switchover from analogue to digital but is thought to be aiming for 2010-2015.
References
- Press Release of 29 June 2005
- http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/Press+Releases/Noel+Dempsey+TD+has+announced+that+he+is+developing+a+Digital+Terrestrial+Television+DTT+Pilot+in+Ir.htm
- Information on digital television in Ireland
- http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/Broadcasting/Digital+Television.htm
- The Irish Times 1 July 2005 (TG4), 29 June 2005 (DTT), available on subscription at
- http://www.ireland.com/
This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.