Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

People always say this all started in 1988, but it did not. It started prior to 1988, with the pirates. They got on because they wanted their music and their voices heard and felt the national broadcaster was not providing that service. What 1988 saw was the provision of a legal basis and regulation for local radio and independent broadcasting. There is no doubt that over the next decades, broadcasting and the media generally will change completely. Ireland must position itself in such a way that people can get access to relevant, interesting news, views and music and that we continue to meet demand. A station with 77% market share is clearly meeting demand.

I am grateful for the presentation, but if I were the director general of RTE, I would find it difficult to accept the idea that RTE should stop chasing ratings. I suspect that if the ratings were to fall dramatically, the question of relevance would very quickly arise. The committee should try to tease out the issue. There is a public service element in RTE's activities and in the activities of independent broadcasters. We need to examine that in the context of the available funds. I am not sure, if I were director general of RTE, that I would agree with the suggestion that RTE should have no commercial revenue. Was that-----