A significant presence of religious programmes was registered in a survey on radio stations in the Irish Republic. The survey, commissioned by the Council of the Irish Churches for Radio and Television (ICCTRA) and by the Irish Bishops’ Conference, was conducted by contacting 46 radio stations. It emerged that 57% of them have at least one religious programme per week with a variable duration of between half an hour and one hour. 15% of the stations have no programme of the kind, while the remainder did not reply to the question. Moreover, over 50% broadcast particular programmes on the occasion of Easter, Christmas and Lent. 36% said that the support of the local Churches would be welcome in the production of religious radio programmes, while in 15% of cases this collaboration is already happening and is considered satisfactory; 12% on the other hand do not consider such collaboration necessary. The Archbishop of Dublin, John Neill, commenting on the survey, remarked: “The presence of religious programming reveals to us the important role it plays in Irish society. It’s important, however, that those who run these programmes are able to maintain their quality high and always try to find new solutions to increase social dialogue in a positive manner”.
