The level of competition in the radio market looks set to intensify following remarks from the Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, that more radio licences are likely to be issued.

Speaking at a major seminar on radio licensing in Athlone, the Minister told delegates he favoured giving more choice to consumers.

Mr Ahern is currently reviewing the radio licensing system in the Republic and the seminar focused on the views of industry and the recommendations of the Ox report issued during the summer.

Speaking to The Irish Times after delivering his address, the Minister said EU directives compelled the Republic to find uses for unused parts of the radio spectrum.

"It is a national asset, owned by the people, and, from a personal point of view, I would like to see more choice and perhaps more niche stations, provided they're obviously viable. But I am also taken by the issue of community radio," he said.

Mr Ahern also said he favoured a "yellow card" or penalty-points system, where radio stations that broke the rules set down by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) would face sanctions but would not necessarily be taken off air immediately.

He said that this would allow stations - and the public - to be aware of what was going wrong and give the stations a chance to correct their behaviour.

Equally, he said stations that upheld the rules could be rewarded. He said these stations, when they reapplied for their licence, could have the whole process fast-tracked.

Asked were radio stations too regulated, he replied: "They are subject to some impositions and they would complain that these put a considerable onus on them but, at the end of the day, it's a bit like legislation to do with children - the child is always paramount, and in this case the listener is paramount."

He said that, in recognition of this, he favoured setting up a listenership council.

The Minister also indicated that an earlier proposal for the Government to "claw back" money from radio stations involved in major commercial takeover deals might not necessarily take place. The idea was for the Government to take a share of windfall gains made by radio stations that sell out to their rivals.

But Mr Ahern admitted that this might not make it into his final proposals.

"I put that out as a sort of an idea; it pre-dated the report by Ox Consultants. The consultants kind of skirt around that issue. Obviously we'll have to see what flows from this kind of consultation.

"I've no hang-ups about it, to be honest. If we don't do that, we might change the way we issue licences. So it's not a definite," he said.

Mr Charlie Collins, speaking for the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, said that there was major concern about the claw-back idea. He said the other major concern among stations was the expense and time involved in applying and re-applying for licences.

A persistent theme of the conference concerned the loss of a radio licence by North West Radio, which is due to go off-air in early October. Mr Ahern said that, while he understood the feelings of those involved, there was little he could do.

"In a strict legal sense, I cannot intervene one way or the other, but I wouldn't be human if I didn't understand the feelings of the people," he remarked.

Earlier in the seminar, Mr Willie O'Reilly, managing director of Today FM, said a "yellow card" system or possibly fines for stations that fell foul of the BCI was the right approach.

While Mr Ahern said that he agreed with this, he was not sure that BCI was in a legal position to impose fines. He said he believed the courts were the only bodies able to do this.

At the opening of the seminar, one of the authors of the Ox report, Mr Hessel Abbink Spaink, said that, while the Republic had many stations, there was more room for stations in rural areas. He said the biggest obstacle to this was the small size of the advertising cake. He said one way around this might be to have regional stations.

Ms Nessa McGann, spokeswoman for CRAOL, which represents community radio stations, said that the sector had been neglected and had not been given enough attention in the Ox report.

"The growth and expansion, the very real contribution this sector makes to society has been completely sidelined by omitting any serious reference to the number, location and work undertaken by the 18 community radio stations currently licensed in this State," she said.