The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has announced details of its Licensing Plan for the remainder of 2015, comprising of a mix of community, special interest and commercial radio services.
The details announced this Wednesday morning, August 12th 2015, include three community stations, two speech services and one music station, as follows:
| # | Service Type | Franchise Area | Target Audience |
| 1. | Community (new) | Kilkenny City & its Environs | Local Community |
| 2. | Community | Lucan & its Environs | Local Community |
| 3. | Community | Claremorris & its Environs | Local Community |
| 4. | Special Interest (Speech) | Dublin City | Local Community |
| 5. | Commercial News/Speech | Quasi-National | All Adults 25+ |
| 6. | Special Interest Music-driven (Alternative Rock) | Dublin City & County | 15-34 Year olds |
Speaking about the publication of the plan, the Chief Executive of the BAI, Michael O’Keeffe said: “The Licensing Plan for the remainder of 2015 is important in capturing those services with licences scheduled to expire in 2016, in addition to making provision for a new community radio service for Kilkenny City and its Environs”.
O’Keeffe added: “This plan marks the first phase of a two-phased process with regard to the BAI’s licensing plans under its existing Strategy Statement. The Authority will give further consideration to any additional licensing requirements towards the end of this year and will publish further details at that time.”
The BAI say that their current Broadcasting Services Strategy, published in March 2012, outlines their vision for the optimum mix of broadcast services in Ireland. The authority will now direct the Contract Awards Committee to invite license applications in the relevant franchise areas, with further information on the process due to be released over the coming months.