[Ulsterman 1690]

The regional optouts on FM could be done without requiring extra bandwidth if the "regions" were based on transmitter service area rather than county/provincial boundries.

For example "Northwest" Truskmore/Holywell Hill (and relays)
"West" Maghera (and relays)
"Southwest" Mullaghanish (and relays -Possibly with a Cork city subsplit on Spurhill and its relays)
"Southeast" Mt Leinster (and relays)
"East" Kippure/Three Rock (possibly with a subsplit between Dublin and Kildare/Wicklow)
"Northeast" Claremont
"Midland" Cairnhill

[MYOB]

Yes, but he's still proposing having 7 national services rather than the 6 we have now: The 4 proposed RTEs, a sold-off 2FM as private, Today and Newstalk.

[Big Tone]

Ulsterman1690 is correct in his analysis when he states that successive governments were to blame for the death of RTE Cork in 2000.

The station was rebranded 89FM (on 89.2mHz) back in 1989 when the new local stations were about to begin RTE were ahead of the posse. RTE Cork Local Radio, as it had previously been known as, was launched back in the 70s to cater to the growing second city population served the city well with its popular Corkabout and Drivetime programmes and was completely local in every sense.

At present Cork is poorly served radio-wise. 96FM is a music driven station with its 20% news/current affairs build around The Opinion Line (Mon-Fri 9am-noon) and its local news service (which is switched to INN from 7pm) and Red FM is another music driven station who's 20% is filled with Cork Talks Back (Sun-Thurs 9pm-midnight) and also have a local news service. One wonders if the obligatory 20% output was not part of the licence would these stations even bother with the above!? Somehow music would eventually take precedence, afterall it is the cheaper option.

Now with the era of DAB+ etc and RTE making nice profits with index-linked TV Licence price hikes, increased ad revenue etc maybe its time to take another look at the possibilites to launch a digital version of RTE Cork, which would cater to the people of the city and county, local people and our new foreign nationals, to help them integrate more into the local population and to at last have a station that is by the people, for the people.

[Zaphod]

Originally Posted by jb91

Were they ever considering a bilingual station in the style of BBC R1? I think I might have heard about it a few years ago on TG4...?

Yes, although I didn't see any mention of it in the current programme for government posted on the Green Party website.

Support for Irish-language radio station for young people
Lorna Siggins, Western Correspondent

The Irish-language radio station, Raidio na Gaeltachta, could soon be complemented by a "RnaG 2" if the results of a new survey are implemented.

The survey, which was co-funded by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and Foras na Gaeilge, found there was 75 per cent support among respondents for an Irish-language radio station for young people.

Entitled "Turning On and Tuning In to Irish Language Radio in the 21st Century", the telephone survey of a representative sample of 1,000 people and a further 200 Gaeltacht residents was carried out by MORI Ireland.

Some 3.4 per cent of respondents said they listened to Irish-language radio daily, and 25 per cent of those surveyed reported that they listened to Irish-language radio on "some" basis.

The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr O Cuiv, said this was "a clear endorsement of the excellent work that Raidio na Gaeltachta has been doing since its foundation" and support for "the growing levels of Irish-language programming on commercial and community radio stations".

However, the survey made it clear that a one-size-fits-all approach was no longer feasible, he added.

The need for Irish-language radio for the 15-35 age group was originally outlined in a report submitted by Coiste Comhairleach na nOg (the Millennium Youth Advisory Committee) in March 2001 to the Minister of State in the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands at the time, Ms Mary Coughlan.

"We have to face up to the reality that, if Irish is to thrive and grow, we must provide a broad range of services to Irish-language speakers all over Ireland," Mr O Cuiv said yesterday.

"Although there will always be resistance from certain quarters regarding improvements to Irish-language services for the public, today's survey shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Irish public supports the work that the Government is doing in this regard."

"Eighty-nine per cent of those surveyed feel that promoting the Irish language is important either to them personally, or to the country as a whole, or both," the Minister noted.

He said he would discuss the the survey with the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Dempsey, with the BCI and with RTE and Raidio na Gaeltachta.