John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Doherty for a full overview of her role. Before I hand over to members I wish to question the last remarks she made about the difficult funding situation in RTE and the cutbacks it has made. She also mentioned the new broadcasting charge.

Over the years this committee has received representations and presentations from the independent sector seeking a slice of the licence fee. Independent broadcasters in radio and local broadcasters claim that they have a public service remit as well. In addition, media has become so diverse in recent times, for example UTV has entered the market recently. Can RTE continue to demand all of the public licence fee? Is there an argument for the opposite?