RTE has told Teilifis na Gaeilge that it may be unable to supply the new station with high quality programmes because of financial constraints, The Irish Times has learned.
Plans for a strong regional and Gaeltacht base for the station's news have also been put in jeopardy by RTE's unwillingness to base its news output for the station in Baile na hAbhann in Connemara, where the headquarters of Teilifis na Gaeilge will be located.
Instead, RTE intends to provide the news service from Montrose, according to a letter from the chairman of the RTE authority, Prof Farrel Corcoran, to Comhairle Theilifis na Gaeilge.
RTE has been directed to supply the new station with one hour of programming a day, including news, from its start up date of October 31st. Negotiations on the nature and content of the programming are believed to have reached a critical stage.
In his letter to Comhairle Theilifis na Gaeilge, Prof Corcoran said the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, had "acknowledged" RTE's difficulty in producing "high quality programming" for, the station because of the question of funding.
Prof Corcoran told The Irish Times that discussions on the issue were "in a state of flux". He hoped to finalise them by the end of the month. "There's no huge conflict between us. It's a question of trying to use the funding that is available to the best possible extent."
He said RTE had "no intention" of supplying substandard programming to Teilifis na Gaeilge. "That's the doomsday scenario where programming is absolutely dreadful, dreadfully cheap and no good at all. That's not an option at all."
A spokesman for Mr Higgins declined to comment on the contents of the letter. However, he pointed out that the Minister had consistently stressed the importance of providing "first class programmes of the highest quality" on the new station from the start of broadcasting.
The ceannasai or head of Teilifis na Gaeilge, Mr Cathal Goan, said he hoped the discussions on RTE's contribution would shortly be resolved.
Meanwhile, a source close to the RTE authority suggested that an increase in the television licence fee of up to £10 may be announced in next week's Budget.
The spokesman for Mr Higgins said the question of any increase in the fee which has been held at the same level since 1986 was a separate issue and should not he confused with funding for Teilifis na Gaeilge.