The Minister for Communications, Dermot Ahern, has announced a review of the local radio licensing regime.
Mr Ahern announced the review after receiving a report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications which examined the issue.
Minister Ahern said the time was opportune to review the granting of local radio licences given the forthcoming establishment of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the conclusion of the present round of licensing.
He said he was specifically ruling out the possibility of any increased Ministerial or political involvement in the process.
The Minister believed the existing framework where licensing decisions were made by an independent regulator had worked well.
Mr Ahern also said his concerns specifically related to cost, fairness and transparency. And he stressed that the need for an appeals mechanism should be examined.
The review will include public consultation with input from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, the Joint Oireachtas Committee, broadcasting stakeholders and the listening audience.
Consultation row
Earlier, a row erupted between the BCI and the Oireachtas Committee.
The BCI claimed it had not been consulted in the Commission's report on radio licensing policies.
However, Senator Kathleen O'Meara, who compiled the report, said the BCI would be invited before the Oireachtas Committee in the coming weeks, after which a full picture of local independent radio in Ireland would emerge.
