| Comment Irish in Britain are
finally in the picture
IT’S taken a while — but at long last we’re on the brink of finally
getting a dedicated TV service for the Irish in Britain.
The new Broadcasting Bill drawn-up by the Irish Government contains a
proposal to extend the public service remit of RTÉ and Teilifís na
Gaeilge to incorporate the broadcasting of programming to Irish
communities in this country.
It’s come after much campaigning and hard work — not least by this
newspaper itself.
But it is a massive step forward which could see Irish TV programmes
beamed into Britain sooner than many people think.
For if the Bill becomes law sometime next year as expected RTÉ and TG4
will have a mandatory duty to provide that very service. It will not be
something to be tackled when the powers-that-be deem resources are
available — instead there will be a statutory obligation on them to move
forward.
If they fail in that duty then they would be held accountable by the
Irish Government’s Communications Minister.
So for the first time the concept of Irish TV being broadcast to the
community in Britain is close to being enshrined in law.
As we’ve said it’s taken a long time to get to this stage — but it looks
as though the effort has been worth it.
Bertie’s lapse casts a shadow over his achievements
JUST what was going through Bertie Ahern’s mind when as Minister of
Finance he accepted a personal donation of £8,000 from a group of
businesssmen in Manchester is anyone’s guess.
Whatever the arguments over whether it was a loan, a donation or a fee
for a speaking engagement the fact is most people would immediately
consider it wrong for a senior government Minister to accept cash in
such circumstances.
There can be no doubt Mr Ahern has been badly damaged by the revelation
— and may yet pay the ultimate penalty.
And when the history of his leadership of the country is reviewed this
episode will cast a dark shadow over all his other achievements.
But perhaps it is a measure of his worth that last week’s revelations
did not see opposition politicians clamouring for his resignation.
As Ronan McGreevy argues on this page the fact of the matter is that
Bertie Ahern’s achievements still far outweigh this one act of bad
faith.
He has presided over the most sustained period of growth ever seen in
Ireland and is still a popular politician with the electorate.
Unless there are more revelations that popularity is unlikely to dim too
much.
It doesn’t alter the fact that what Mr Ahern did was wrong. If he wants
to retain any shred of dignity he should stand up this week and say so
instead of attempting to justify his actions.
But it would also be a tragedy if all the achievements of his term as
Taoiseach are overshadowed by a show of stupidity committed before he
even took up the highest office in the land.
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