Independent local radio stations have played a huge role during the pandemic and must be protected

That's according to Micheál Martin who says funding will be made available to stations from the Sound and Vision scheme.

Representative body Independent Broadcasters of Ireland have regularly warned that the very existence of independent radio is under threat and has called local journalism to be protected. 

They have called for a strategy to be implemented to allow it to fulfil its public sector mandate. 

The sector was rocked by pay cuts and layoffs caused by a fall in advertising revenue at the start of the pandemic.

Speaking on the Neil Prendeville Show on Cork's RedFM, the Taoiseach responds to Neil's suggestion that without immediate support news and current affairs could disappear from local radio:

"We will [still have local radio news and current affairs]. And I think you've [Neil] been very successful, your station [RedFM] has been successful, other stations have been successful in Cork and elsewhere. Our objective is to have as pluralistic a media provision as possible, as diverse a media provision as possible. In other words we want local media to survive and we want to get proposals that would ensure that local radio survives."

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