A BILL TO allow the public access to RTÉ’s audiovisual archives has been proposed by the Green Party’s Patrick Costello.

The private member’s bill, which proposes amending the Broadcasting Act 2009, was launched today.

The Dublin South-Central TD said accessing the national broadcaster’s archival footage is “deeply and perhaps deliberately prohibitive” and that there is an obligation on the station to “be more responsive to the citizens who fund it”.

“My Bill seeks to place an onus on RTÉ and a responsibility on it, and in particular on the director general to operate this archive in a more transparent and accessible way,” Costello said.

“It proposes a very simple, one section amendment to the Broadcasting Act 2009, putting that obligation on RTÉ to provide free public access for citizens and academics. This provides the archive as an accessible one, as that valuable and historical culture and instrument that it is, while also protecting the economic value of its archive for RTÉ.”

Dating from as early as the 1890s, the RTÉ Archives consist of news, current affairs, music and programme material, as well as a large selection of historic archive material.

In order to view this material, broadcasters, academics and members of the public must submit a request to RTÉ and may have to pay a fee in order to obtain it.

The RTÉ Archives website states it supplies video footage and photographs for broadcasting, public exhibitions, academic research, educational use and “other professional uses”. 

For private use, RTÉ provides “limited access” to archive material through the RTÉ Archive Sales team. 

“Subject to copyright status and availability of resources, RTÉ provides limited access to RTÉ Archives through the RTÉ Archive Sales team. We can also supply photographic images from RTÉ Stills Library collection,” the website states.

“Material is made available on the strict understanding that it is for private use only.”

Costello said RTÉ is “an important part of our cultural landscape and of our national memory” with a “vast and wealthy cultural and historical archive”.

He said it already has a public service obligation and, “for a variety of reasons, it is very important that we protect public service broadcasting”.

He also said that taxpayer funding has amounted to 60% of RTÉ’s total income in recent years.

It is right that we support public broadcasting but we must be conscious that this puts an obligation on that public broadcaster to its citizens, not just in respect of current programming but also in respect of its extensive archive, dating, in fact, from the State’s inception.

“Currently, accessing the RTÉ archives is deeply and perhaps deliberately prohibitive. There are no finding aids or online catalogue for citizens to view. Such aids do exist but they are not made available,” Costello continued. 

He referenced BBC, which has a fully searchable video database online and allows any UK citizen to visit the British Film Institute and access its material.

“We see in other jurisdictions many positive examples of good practice in this area. RTÉ should be replicating these structures and operating procedures. My Bill seeks to do that.

“I say, there is an obligation on RTÉ as a result of all of the work and support that this Government and the Minister, Deputy Martin, has given it to be more responsive to the citizens who fund it.”

RTÉ was contacted for comment.