Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

No one would argue that the current situation and the institutional culture in RTÉ are healthy, acceptable or sustainable. The deficit in TV licence revenue last year indicates that some 120,000 people have chosen not to renew their licence. I cannot blame them. Financial scandals at RTÉ rocked people's trust and confidence in the national broadcaster and the television licence system.

Rampant misuse of funding, salary top-ups and a flagrant disregard for oversight are some of the charges that could be laid against RTÉ. Its behaviour before the Oireachtas committee, as Members mentioned, was equally unacceptable. Getting to the truth was like getting blood with a stone with evasion and half-truths being the standard response to TDs and Senators performing their oversight role for a broadcaster that is in receipt of tens of millions of Irish taxpayers' money through the licence fee every year. This behaviour threatens to undermine RTÉ as an institution at possibly the worst time.

Ireland needs a vibrant and properly funded public broadcaster. A vibrant, diverse, financially sustainable and independent media sector is critical to any well-functioning democracy. We have seen how mainstream mass misinformation and disinformation have become in many countries, as well as the severe impact that this can have on society.

It is not just news and current affairs that we need a strong public broadcaster to provide and protect. Irish culture and sport equally need an outlet. We are a small country with a rich and vibrant heritage. We are told we are a nation of storytellers. We should not let others tell our stories for us. We cannot lose more weekends of Irish sport behind the paywalls at a time of increasingly high costs of living. Our young Irish sports stars deserve to be seen by as wide an audience as possible, whether it is on the GAA pitch, the running track or a cycling route. Ireland needs RTÉ to be vibrant, financially sustainable and independent but it cannot continue on as it has done in the past where public money is treated like a piggy bank with no oversight and no consequences for its misuse.

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