Sir, In regard to Farrell Corcoran's letter (January 31st) re Teilifis na Gaeilge, statistics commissioned by RTE do not support his view. He argues that the removal of Irish from RTE 1 and Network 2 would not represent the "mainstream" view. For the week ending January 14th, 1996, the TAM figures for Irish Language programmes are as follows Tuesday, 8 pm. Cursai Reatha 2 per cent Thursday 8 p.m. Tintean 1 per cent Friday 3.30 p.m. Trici agus Traic 2 per cent Sunday 11 p.m. Cursai Ealaine 3 per cent average 2 per cent.
Hence, about 98 per cent of the population choose not to watch Irish language programmes. Clearly, Farrell's view is not representative of the mainstream as shown by these figures. I believe these TAM ratings support Frank Fennell's argument that TNG is "an extravagant personal gesture".
TV is an expensive service which appeals to a "broad" audience. If people do not watch Irish language programmes on the main Irish stations they are unlikely to switch over to a dedicated Irish language TV station. To ignore the current viewing percents and to allocate tax payers money for an Irish language station seems very extravagant indeed Yours, etc., Managing Director Media Audits Consultancy, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.