I warmly welcome my department’s decision to temporarily suspend the broadcasting levy for local radio stations.
Local radio stations perform a valuable community service, no more so than now when we are in the midst of a crisis.
They will experience a loss of business as a result of the consequent reduction in economic activity and advertising revenue in particular.
I fully support my colleague Minister Richard Bruton’s decision to ask the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to waive the broadcasting levy for the first six months of this year.
This will save local stations nationally around €1 million.
Our local radio stations are a trusted source of news and information and they deserve to be supported in this way.