RTE is on the verge of investing £2 million in an Irish cable television station in Britain. RTE will also supply the channel with programming in a separate deal which will be worth around £500,000 a year to the state owned broadcaster.

RTE will invest the £2 million in return for a 20 per cent stake in Tara Television, which aims to begin broadcasting in September. Aimed primarily at the eight million people of Irish descent living in Britain, it will draw its material mainly from RTE.

The channel's main shareholder is United International Holdings (UIH). Ms Ashley Dartnell, its managing director, told The Irish Times the company was still negotiating with several, cable operators on how much the service should cost.

She said Tara believed it should be offered as part of the complete package. Tara felt it would be unfair to burden subscribers with a further £60 annual charge, she explained.

Ms Dartnell said everything "is ready to roll" but it was waiting until the major cable operators relaunched their packages. She said Tara had has "handshake agreements" with three operators, representing greater London and Liverpool.

Tara would fulfil its initial target of reaching 500,000 homes, she said. The channel's start up date has been postponed several times.

She said the channel would not make a profit for four or five years. It is understood that payments to RTE will depend on the number of subscribers, but the programming deal will be worth, £500,000 in a full year.

The new station will broadcast from midday to midnight, featuring drama, soap operas, music, sport, game shows and current affairs.

It will draw extensively from current Irish produced and RTE archive material. Twelve people are working in Dublin, at Windmill Lane, to tailor programmes for the new channel.

The channel will not be available in Ireland. There are also plans to extend the concept to New Zealand, Australia and Canada.