Rabbitte orders Saorview probe over signal fears
Concerns have been raised about the reception in parts of Rosscarbery, Reenascreena, Leap, Timoleague, Dunmanway, and Skibbereen.
Mr Rabbitte ordered the review after he was petitioned by Cork South West TD Jim Daly.
Residents in the village of Leap had already complained to RTÉ. Rosscarbery Community Council will add its weight to local concerns and, in a letter to RTÉ, has claimed people in West Cork are being “discriminated against”.
Mr Daly said he echoed local sentiments when he spoke to Mr Rabbitte in Leinster House.
“The people of West Cork are being discriminated against by virtue of the fact they would have to pay approximately €300 to get a satellite dish [Saorsat] and have it installed to avail of RTÉ 1 and 2. Saorview is free if you have a new television which is Saorview-enabled,” said Mr Daly.
“But viewers forced to avail of the satellite cannot access TG4 and TV3.”
RTÉ said terrestrial signals from Saorview needed a line of sight and could not, for example, go through mountains or into valleys.
Fine Gael TD Mr Daly said: “Constituents forced to avail of Saorsat are being forced to pay the equivalent of three times the household charge for half the service the rest of the country will get. That’s not fair.”
He said householders could avail of Sky satellites to get RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2, but again that would cost them a lot of money. “The cheapest package from Sky is €288 and I don’t see why people should have to pay for a British company to provide signals for our national stations.”
Rosscarbery Community Council chairman Michael O’Sullivan said residents were “annoyed because they feel they’re being discriminated against”.
“There is a lot of concern around Rosscarbery about this and we contacted Deputy Daly about it. We should all be treated equally. People living around Leap have written to RTÉ complaining about it and Rosscarbery Community Council will follow suit,” he said.
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