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

I would like to bring the debate to a conclusion by thanking the witnesses from RTE for attending this morning's meeting. I think it has been a useful exchange. It is important for representatives of RTE to hear the views of Members of the Oireachtas, whose role is to articulate the views of the public, in many respects. It is important from our perspective that we understand the sense of balance and trust that RTE wants to continue to bring to its operations. The levels of trust, independence and balance that are associated with RTE as the State broadcaster need to be maintained. RTE's public service remit was illustrated in a sporting context last Saturday. Another debate about the Six Nations rugby competition will have to be held in the future. I would like to pay tribute to RTE for the way it reacted to the women's match the following day. It was important that RTE showed its flexibility by covering that match. If it had not done so, we would probably be asking the officials today why the match was not shown. I congratulate them in that regard. I thank all of the delegates. We look forward to continuing debates and discussions.