Mr. John Purcell:

One area in which we feel there is unfairness vis-à-vis RTE is in the regulation of sponsorship and promotions. We feel we operate under a draconian set of guidelines which do not seem to apply to RTE. Senator Walsh asked if we represent independent television broadcasters. We do not but we have the same interests and concerns as that sector.

Deputy Healy-Rae asked how the committee could specifically help with our concerns. We would like to see the establishment of a fund to support public service broadcasting on independent stations, as well as on RTE. We feel there is an acceptance of the unfairness that pertains in this regard. We believe RTE's commercial mandate must be redefined. Currently, the Act governing RTE obliges it to maximise its commercial revenue at all terms. We feel this needs to be redefined in legislation. We believe the funding of the broadcasting charge through the licence fee or the proposed household broadcasting charge would make major inroads into introducing a fairness in this area, as well as addressing its imbalances.