Tuning in to rural needs

Medium wave needed in rural areas – Ring

Michael Commins

MAYO TD Michael Ring (pictured) is the latest to join the growing barrage of criticism in relation to the decision by RTÉ to switch off their medium wave transmitter on March 24. Intense pressure is being put on the national broadcaster to reverse the decision and a high-powered meeting with government officials is planned for Dublin later this week.
Deputy Ring, who is the Fine Gael spokesman on Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, said he was extremely disappointed with the RTÉ move, which he claims will be ‘a hard blow to occupants of remote areas, especially elderly people’.
He said: “Some elderly people living in rural areas, including those in isolated parts of my constituency in Mayo, rely on medium wave radio broadcasts for information as some of them are unable to receive good FM reception. RTÉ is of the opinion that the cost of the medium wave network can no longer be justified. Yet it expects people, whether they can receive its services or not, to continue to pay their licence fee.
“RTÉ, as a public service broadcaster, is in receipt of the licence fee. It is not good enough to simply switch off the medium wave transmitters on March 24 and ignore these people. They should not be discriminated against because of where they live.”
The medium wave transmission service has operated from outside Tullamore for around three decades. Prior to that, the transmitters were based in Moydrum, Athlone. These transmitters continued to broadcast Radio 2 (2FM) for some time before they too were switched off.
However, the decision to pull the plug on the Tullamore transmitter is far more serious. It will leave many parts of the northern regions of Ulster without a terrestrial radio service from the South. It will also have a huge impact on many of the Irish in England who depend on the medium wave to hear the news and sports from Ireland.
While RTÉ will continue to broadcast on long wave (252), many of them do not have long wave facilities on the radios or car radios.