Kylie Minogue and Rihanna are Irish ‘musically speaking’

Australian popstar Kylie Minogue is considered Irish as is Barbadian singer Rihanna because of their music, the Dáil has heard.

"Crazy loopholes" in voluntary commitments by broadcasters to play a certain amount of Irish music, make "alarming" definitions of what is Irish, Labour TD Willie Penrose said.

Singer Niall Horan “of whom Mullingar is very proud” is in One Direction so its music is deemed Irish, the Longford-Westmeath TD said. “Rihanna recorded vocals for a hit in Dublin and she became Irish.” He added that a Kylie Minogue hit was classified as Irish because parts of it were recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin.

Mr Penrose called on the Government to follow the French example implemented over 20 years ago and introduce legislation which creates a 40 per cent quota for Irish music, to be played on RTÉ and commercial radio stations.

He said France did this “on the simple grounds that its culture and language were threatened by the proliferation of English-based popular music taking root across the airwaves with no geographical boundaries”.

In a sharp attack on the national broadcaster and the Government over its “placid acceptance” of the view the State would not be allowed by the EU to legislate for a similar quota system, the Government backbencher said this was “bureaucratic twaddle” and “anything to portray ourselves as supplicants or poodles who must always be seen as good Europeans and always obedient”.

Irish bands of all genres did not get fair airplay, he believed. “Stations such as RTÉ and other commercial stations should have a quota for the amount of Irish music played and they should step up to the mark”.

France is the only EU country with a specific quota for national music and Ireland should follow suit, he said, citing arguments from Galway-based composer, singer and musician Johnny Duhan. Mr Penrose said that in Ireland "we are more vulnerable than any other EU country as we are very near England and as many of ours singers generally sing in English we are more exposed and susceptible to the cultural influence of England and the US than any of our EU partners"

It was a mammoth struggle for Irish musicians and singers to survive and that they did so “with such a low level of support from radio is a mark of the strength of their music, literary heritage and abilities”.

He praised presenters John Creedon and Ronan Collins as the only real supporters of Irish music on RTÉ, which was "meant to be a public service broadcaster". But he believed "its main stations do little for public service when it comes to broadcasting Irish music and Irish artists", unlike in the UK where BBC radio "promotes emerging acts with gusto".

Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan, standing in for Minister for Communications Alex White, pointed out that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, which regulates content, was an independent statutory body and the “Minister therefore has no function in this matter”.

She added that the policy approach taken to this issue “must be consistent with EU and Irish regulatory structures”.

Ms O’Sullivan said that a move to introduce quotas was considered in the past but “fell foul of EU law”. She took Mr Penrose’s point that another EU country could do it and she was sure the Minister for Communications would give full consideration to this.

She added that the Department of Communications believed the best approach was “one of direct engagement with the radio sector with a view to establishing a mutually acceptable treatment of Irish music”.

But Mr Penrose said the Government view was “political cowardice of the highest order. If the French can do it why can’t we?”

He said if Irish music got “multiple plays” this would sell the music and “create a positive cultural environment where jobs can be created and careers sustained”.

He added that many musicians could not break through internationally until they were given a chance by Irish radio. “No one cared about Glen Hansard and The Frames until he came back from the Oscars clutching a statue”, he said. “Snow Patrol had to appear on American televisions before they were taken seriously.”

The Mullingar-based TD said “Irish country music is filling hotel ballrooms and even cruise ships yet I do not hear much of it on RTÉ radio”.

Ms O’Sullivan said however the information she had showed the “cultural criterion in the case of France is a much narrower and more identifiable criterion” than what Mr Penrose was proposing.