Ms Breda O'Keeffe:

Deputy Noel Harrington asked many questions and I hope I will address most of them. He is correct that it is not a question of cuts alone. One should assess value for money in terms of how effective they are and one way to do this is to look at the transmitted hour cost or the cost of programming. While it is difficult to compare programmes, as one programme is not the same as another, we have shown significant reductions in our per transmitted hour cost. For example, the average cost per transmitted hour for RTE One decreased by 29% between 2008 and 2012, while the figure for RTE Two decreased by 21%. The number of transmitted hours has not decreased hugely. Similarly, in the case of radio, the average cost per transmitted hour across all services has decreased significantly - for Raidió na Gaeltachta by18%; Lyric FM, 20%; 2FM, 24%; and Radio 1, 24%. As well as maintaining output, we have tried to consistently reduce year on year the transmitted hour cost.

Deputies Noel Harrington and Dessie Ellis referred to the cost of indigenous programming which is significantly higher than that of acquired programming because of the level of production involved. When we buy something in, we acquire a licence, but when one makes a programme, whether in RTE or the independent sector, significant research, production, etc, is required, which means that the cost of an indigenous programme is significantly higher than that of an acquired programme.