Mr. Mark Griffin:

RTE is a commercial semi-State that operates independently of the Department. We do not have any direct line of sight or decision-making power in respect of what RTE would pay some of the better-paid presenters in the organisation. I do know, however, that the pay of some of the higher-paid presenters has been reduced over the last years in line with a very substantial general reduction in the RTE pay bill. It is interesting to note that, in fact, some of the higher paid presenters are on channels other than RTE. There is an issue for RTE of being able to compete and to attract people who are popular in terms of coverage and listenership and who also bring sponsorship to the radio station. That is a consideration for RTE.