Mr. John Purcell:

Professor Rafter has considerably shortened many of my remarks because I was going to perhaps labour the fact that we are public service broadcasters as well. That is a very important point and a shift in the debate in that regard is important. Much of the debate tends to be RTE-centric and we need to move beyond that because our members who represent the 34 independent stations have 66% of prime-time listenership in the country.

We welcome this debate at a crucial stage in Irish broadcasting. We are approaching, if not on the precipice of, a tipping point. We are frustrated. Politicians have for years recognised the value of what we do but action has been scarce. In the midst of a communications revolution we are mystified that there has been no action on broadcasting legislation, which is urgently required. I am sure my colleagues in RTE would share the view that this debate is timely and there is an urgency about it.

There has been much discussion about what public service broadcasting is. It should not be defined in terms of ownership structures, rather in terms of content. The value to a democracy of public service broadcasting has been further emphasised by events in recent weeks and months. Professor Rafter referred to journalism. The importance of public service-type journalism is that it reflects the communities to which it broadcasts; is reliable, balanced and fair; and sees the broadcaster as a responsible member of the community rooted in the long-term interests of the community to which it broadcasts rather than simply accumulating clicks on a website and generating revenue. These are characteristics beyond the "inform and educate" mantra that we have heard for years.

Regarding our obligations as public service broadcasters, much has been made in the debate over the years of RTE's statutory obligations. However, independent broadcasters have detailed legislative obligations under the 2009 Act and also laid down in our broadcasting contracts. The reality around the country is reflected in last Friday's broadcast schedule for Clare FM. The print on the slide I am showing may be a bit small. There was an outside broadcast from Ballyea; traditional music; coverage of local sport; and local discussion. This is not competing with RTE or other broadcasters, but it is providing unique broadcasting to the area, which, if Clare FM were no longer in a position to provide it, would not be provided by anybody else.

The success of Irish independent radio and RTE is reflected in the JNLR results showing that 82% of the Irish population listen to radio on a daily basis. In almost every county, the market leader is the local independent radio station. We have compared those figures with RTE Radio 1 on a county-by-county basis. For example, the share of the market in Waterford enjoyed by the local radio station is 38.8% compared with 18.4% for RTE Radio 1. On this day, as we address the committee, one of the true stars of Irish radio, Billy McCarthy, was laid to rest. The reaction in Waterford to his passing reflected the importance in which the radio station was held. Virtually the entire community came to a standstill to honour the voice of Waterford, as he was known.

Every three months when the broadcast listenership figures are released, we hear about the top ten most listened to radio programmes in the country being largely RTE programmes. However, in Carlow and Kilkenny, for example, during peak listening time between 10 a.m. and noon, "KCLR Live", which is our talk programme, has an audience of approximately 15,000, while its competitor on RTE Radio 1 has in the region of 5,000. We believe that is because we supply content that is relevant to people; reflects their lives; covers the issues that concern them; responds to the issues they want to talk about; involves them; and gives them the opportunity to express themselves.

On a national basis, my next slide compares the morning broadcasts of RTE Radio 1 and Newstalk. It is untenable to argue that one is public service and one is not. The debate needs to reflect the reality that public service broadcasting goes across the spectrum.

We face many threats to the market. The fallout could be an erosion of Irish culture and identity. Professor Rafter referred to Noel Curran's remarks on how it is possible to spend an entire day without any Irish media input of one so wished. It is essential to have a diverse, sustainable and viable Irish-based broadcasting sector with a strong RTE, and a viable and strong independent sector as well. At the core of this is the funding model.

The recent BAI strategy statement placed sectoral sustainability at the core of what it wants to do. If this means changing the legislation to increase our advertising time allowance to 12 minutes per hour rather than ten minutes per hour as it currently is, it will not work. The threats are very real. The independent radio station, TXFM, recently closed. We need fundamental shifts in understanding and action. We have been critical of inaction. Based on our interaction with the Department we feel that its orientation continually focuses on the survival of RTE. We need survival of the cross-sectoral radio industry.

We need to recognise the challenges and recognise that the solutions must be on a win-win basis for independent broadcasters and RTE. Equally, where resources are at stake and funding is to be provided, accountability, transparency, value for money and clear commitments are essential. That model has already been shown in the "sound and vision" scheme. As Professor Rafter pointed out, there are limitations to that scheme, but it clearly shows how public money can be entrusted to private operators to provide public service broadcasting.

We have designed a model to fund public service broadcasting on independent stations. We can provide a copy to members of the committee if they wish. Taking all the arguments on board, we have related the public money specifically to the 20% news, current affairs and talk content that broadcasters are required to provide under current legislation and our contracts. Ultimately, this will come from the licence fee. We believe the collection of the licence represents the potential for approximately €30 million to €50 million in additional revenue. Given that our members represent approximately 66% of the Irish radio industry, we believe a fund such as the one we have outlined needs to be adopted and we urge the committee to examine it.

Failure to act presents an appalling vista where there will be an erosion of use, influence, depth and quality of locally based media across radio and television that will lead to the lowest common denominator and the constant search for clicks and quick revenue.

We have been frustrated. There is a funding crisis. We believe that this will generate an editorial crisis, which will have deep negative impacts for Irish society. We do not want to see the degradation of our sector and we are willing to be very constructive. We have presented this scheme. We have presented research over the years. We are willing to be a very constructive partner but I would like to stress the urgency of the situation. We look forward to working with the committee members. We will be happy to take some questions.