THE MINISTER responsible for broadcasting, Michael D Higgins, has held out the possibility of a stand alone broadcasting network dedicated to education. In his memorandum to Government containing his proposals for new broadcasting legislation, which have been seen by The Irish Times, the Minister said that the so called super authority or Broadcasting Commission will have the power to establish an Educational Broadcasting Advisory Committee.

It will examine and make recommendations to the commission on the possibilities for the provision of educational broadcasting; the structures to be employed for educational broadcasting; the level and source of funding for making educational programmes and the advisability and practicability of establishing a stand alone broadcasting network for educational broadcasting.

He is also to put into his legislation provision for the nomination of members of the Commission by the Minister for Education. This will give that Minister immense influence, as it is envisaged that the Commission will be made up of only six people.

The memorandum sets out the heads of Higgins's proposed legislation. It came out of a long process of debate following the publication of the Green Paper on Broadcasting.

The proposal to establish a Broadcasting Commission which will take over the role of the Independent Radio and Television Commission and many of the functions of the RTE Authority, is the most radical shake up of Irish broadcasting since the establishment of RTE Authority over 30 years ago.

The Minister is seeking approval from his Cabinet colleagues before a Bill is drawn up. He also wants further debate outside the Government before the Bill is finalised and goes to the Oireachtas.

Fianna Fail has already indicated its opposition to the Broadcasting Commission. It feels it will confuse the distinction between commercial and public service broadcasting.

The RTE Authority, under these proposals, will become the board of a broadcasting corporation and be subject to the commission.

According to the background note which accompanied the memorandum, the Minister said the final legislation would include provision for the educational broadcasting advisory committee to be re constituted as an agency for commissioning or acquiring educational programmes. Material made or acquired under this provision could be shown the Teilifis na Gaeilge network and or made available to other broadcasters.

THE MEMORANDUM says that, while there has been immense interest in educational television, provision for it has been only on an ad hoc basis. "There is a danger that, unless this issue can be tackled on a structured basis involving all the actors in the field, the potential will never be realised.

The advisory committee will become a commissioning agency only if proper structures and funding are in place. It will be allowed to commission only programmes that are educational in the formal sense. Programmes that are educational and informative in the broad sense "should be part of any broadcasters schedule particularly those with a public service remit", he said.

The legislation will also allow the commission to encourage any broadcaster to develop educational strands within his or her own schedule and allow for the spare capacity on Teilifis na Gaeilge's network to be used for this purpose.