Written question asked by Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party) on Wednesday, 25 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 January 2012. It was answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative) on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

RTE: Northern Ireland

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress he has made on the memorandum of understanding between the UK and Ireland on the availability of RTE in Northern Ireland.

Answer: Considerable progress has been made in facilitating the provision of the Irish television services, RTE1, RTE2 and TG4 in Northern Ireland since the signing, on 1 February 2010, of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of UK and Ireland aimed at providing a framework for co-operation on broadcasting issues in Northern Ireland.RTE and TG4 are currently in the process of forming a not-for-profit joint venture that will be responsible for the procurement and installation of the transmission facilities to deliver RTE1, RTE2 and TG4 in Northern Ireland. Both Governments have reached agreement on the technical standards to be used for transmitting these services from transmitters in Northern Ireland, and the frequency plans for these transmitters have been agreed internationally.

Secondary information