Minister for Communications Richard Bruton has announced today that independent commercial radio stations are to benefit from a €2.5 million support in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
The funding comes from a re-purposing of existing Sound and Vision funding for broadcasters, via the TV licence fee.
The Minister has now made a proportion of this available, to support stations which he says are "providing reliable, trusted information on Covid 19."
In a statement today, Minister Bruton added "Our independent radio stations have a crucial role to play as we respond to the Covid 19 Pandemic.
"Communities everywhere rely on their local station as a trusted source of information and this is especially important now as we manage this pandemic."
The Independent Broadcasters of Ireland say the allocation of funding 'will make a significant difference in ensuring that independent stations can continue to broadcast throughout the current crisis which has seen a collapse in advertising revenue.'
The sudden reduction in revenue had threatened the continuation of news and current affairs programming at a time when the importance and impact of radio at a time of national crisis is widely acknowledged.
“We’d like to thank Minister Bruton for acting swiftly in response to our urgent requests and we look forward to working with the BAI to quickly and effectively ensure this money which is so important to ensure the continuity of services to our listeners is distributed without delay,” said John Purcell, Chairman of IBI.
“We’d like to acknowledge the work and effort of Minister Richard Bruton, Minister of Sate Sean Canney and the officials in the Department of Communications for acting swiftly to secure this essential funding. We are heartened by their recognition of the important role that radio is playing in servicing the communities we broadcast to and helping them mobilise in the face of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
"Our members complete attention will now be on serving the needs and interests of the millions of people who tune to independent radio every day”.
