A major row has broken out between Radio Ireland and the Independent Radio and Television Commission over the station's new programme schedule. Radio Ireland yesterday threatened to broadcast its new programmes from next month without the approval of the IRTC, claiming that it had suffered "cavalier treatment" by the commission.
But the IRTC said it had not rejected the new programme schedule. It had merely raised questions about it.
Last night a spokesman for Radio Ireland said it had not yet received a promised letter from the IRTC explaining the regulator's problems with the new schedule. But an IRTC spokesman said there had been 10 telephone calls between the two groups during the day, and he could confirm the station received a letter at 3.15 p.m. setting out the IRTC's position.
The threat to broadcast without approval was made following a Radio Ireland board meeting. The station said "the board, executive and staff of Radio Ireland are both shocked and angered by this seemingly cavalier treatment by a regulatory body whose raison d'etre is to support and encourage independent broadcasting in Ireland."
A spokesman said it had been told on Thursday that its new schedule had not been approved, in one short telephone conversation from the IRTC chief executive, Mr Michael O'Keeffe, to his Radio Ireland counterpart, Mr Dick Hill.
Radio Ireland sources said the board, which has invested some £6.5 million in the station, including £2.5 million on the planned revamp, had decided to "put it up to the IRTC" by broadcasting the new programmes without authorisation.
The sources said this could be the only response to the IRTC's actions, and in particular the IRTC's failure to meet station executives to discuss the schedule in detail. "Have they shown us due process? We'll see them in court," one station source said.
The IRTC has the ultimate sanction of withdrawing the station's licence for breaches of regulations.
Yesterday evening the IRTC issued a statement saying the station's new schedule "has not been rejected by the board" of the IRTC. The IRTC had "raised a number of significant and legitimate questions relating to the commitments entered into by Radio Ireland in its original submission and in the programme policy statement which forms part of its original contract".
The IRTC said it had been "consistently supportive of the station". It had twice agreed to let the station postpone a submission of the new schedule and allowed it to broadcast on a temporary schedule. Under the new schedule, according to Radio Ireland, the station will "continue to be a musically-driven broadcaster". The programming mix offered will be 60 per cent music and 40 per cent speech during the day, with a 70:30 ratio at night.
The new schedule has been drawn up with the help of British radio consultants who advise the broadcaster Chris Evans, the first to import the "shock jock" methods of controversial US radio broadcasters to Britain. Radio Ireland has been broadcasting since March, but figures published in August showed it had only 1 per cent of the national radio audience, compared to RTE1's 32 per cent and 22 per cent for 2FM.