Fears have been expressed by a Clare TD over the future of a community radio station in West Clare.
Raidió Corca Baiscinn were unsuccessful in 2021 and 2020 in their applications to the COVID-19 Stability Fund. Just last week, the Kilkee based community radio station were honoured at the CRAOL Féile Awards taking home gold and silver accolades.
Five full-time jobs are provided at RCB under the Community Services Programme with a further five community employment part-time jobs at the station. RCB has a listenership of 13,000 and offers volunteering and training pathways for people with diverse lived experiences.
Sports presenters Jim Conlan and Nicholas Rynne, documentary maker Dermot Hayes plus music presenters Mikey Lorrigan and Brian Clohessy are among the volunteers at the station.
Clare TD, Violet-Anne Wynne (SF) has warned that RCB is now “facing an uncertain future due to the lack of funding and this would be a devastating blow to the community of South West Clare”. She outlined the need for increased funding for community radio stations.
“This local community radio station provides an invaluable service to the rural communities scattered across South West Clare, as it has done for many years now. Never has their work been so important and integral to the community than the Covid-19 period. RCB didn’t stop broadcasting all throughout the pandemic period, over the course of the last 19 months they continued recording local radio shows and providing connection, entertainment and quite frankly, a lifeline to many people experiencing isolation,” she stated.
Deputy Wynne has written an appeal to Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development with special responsibility for Community Development and Charities, Joe O’Brien (GP) over RCB’s unsuccessful attempts to secure funding.
“Community radio services were considered as essential service over the pandemic period and RCB kept broadcasting despite the fact they were not able to generate revenue from fundraising, sponsorship and advertising as in other years,” the Kilrush woman commented.
She continued, “RCB provide training and volunteering opportunities to Disabled People, early-school leavers and others as well as providing a hub of activity to the South West. I am aware of other community organisations attracting large sums of money, in both the 2020 and 2021 tranches and if balanced regional development is to amount to more than just hollow buzzwords, the West can’t get left behind. Fair is fair”.
