The Labour Party is to call on an all-party Oireachtas committee to ask RTÉ to explain its controversial decision to scrap its medium wave service.
Labour's communications spokeswoman Liz McManus claimed halting the popular frequency band will cut people off in Northern Ireland as well as Irish emigrants abroad
"At this juncture in our history, with closer co-operation between North and South, it is disappointing that this link from RTÉ radio will be shut down," she said.
RTÉ's Radio 1 signal reaches just 75 per cent of the population in the North, and is at its weakest in and around Belfast. Many people tune into the MW transmission, including in some rural areas of the Republic, where they can't get a good FM signal.
RTÉ argues that said medium wave - which is to be switched off next month - is an outdated technology offering poor sound quality and value-for-money. It has vowed to improve its FM signal, with a review ongoing into its reception in Belfast, while advising MW listeners about its alternative long wave, internet and satellite services.
But Ms McManus said cutting off any listeners in the North would fly in the face of the Belfast Agreement which pledges equal rights for both nationalist and unionist culture. "I will be asking the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications to invite RTÉ to come in to discuss this matter in full," she said. "Tuning in to RTÉ radio medium wave forms part of the traditional cross-border links enjoyed by many in Northern Ireland. It serves all ages and social groups.
"This matter should also be debated by the committee established by the Oireachtas to oversee progress on the Good Friday Agreement," she said.
"Denying people in Northern Ireland access to our national broadcaster service is a step backwards. Denying emigrants in Britain the same access compounds an injustice to many of them who were forced to leave out of economic necessity".