TG4's daytime audience has grown by over 50 per cent since the station began its live coverage of the Public Accounts Committee DIRT investigation.
An estimated 60,000 viewers are tuning in daily to watch the PAC coverage, compared to average afternoon audiences of 40,000 earlier this year, a station spokesman confirmed.
TG4 announced that the launch of its autumn schedule and planned children's programming were being put back in order to continue hearings.
The main victim of the decision is the children's programme package, Cula4. "We will be following this inquiry more or less to the end," the spokesman said, adding that a decision may have to be taken soon to cease coverage of the PAC at 4 p.m.
The broadcasts mean an average of five hours of English-language programming on the Irish-language station each weekday. "This is part of our public service broadcasting service," the spokesman said.