ICB - representing churches and individuals from all 32 counties - will continue to seek to advance this just cause. - Yours, etc.,
Sir - I refer to a report on the front page of your edition of February 14th concerning the appearance by Irish Christian Broadcasters (ICB) before the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Public Transport. I am concerned that it may have presented a view of this body as a strange organisation, associated with rather interesting claims about itself! Just to put the record straight:
1. The committee did agree with our concerns that this issue has not been addressed - for the Irish Christian Broadcasting Service in the 1980s and 1990s, for United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) in in the 1990s, nor for ICB since its inception in 2000.
The committee has agreed to write to the Minister in support of the ICB request for a derogation (as suggested last month by the ITU and EBU international regulators in Geneva) to use the 549 and 846 frequencies, assigned by the Russian authorities to ICB, for the purpose of a Christian music radio station.
2. Ireland has a significant Christian heritage and it is odd, to say the least, that Ireland and Britain are the only European countries without Christian radio.
3. We do believe that Christians are entitled to the choice of listening to a Christian music station. An Irish Marketing Survey carried out independently for a separate organisation in 1999 showed that 52 per cent of people questioned would occasionally listen to such a station if it were available.
4. In 1999, UCB handed in a petition signed by 27,000 people to the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly calling for UCB to be licensed.
5. On June 12th, 2000, the Northern Ireland Assembly unanimously called for the authorities to licence Christian broadcasts by UCB on 549 and 846 metres. The Committee was last week adding its voice to that of the Northern Assembly.
The Committee has previously spoken in favour of this request, and we trust that the derogation sought will resolve the issue once and for all.
STEPHEN CARDY,
Director,
Irish Christian Broadcasters,
Dundalk,
Co Louth.