Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegates and thank them for coming. I congratulate Ms Forbes on her appointment as director general. She has a tough task ahead of her. I also welcome Mr. Alan Esslemont, chief executive of TG4, and his team which is doing a fantastic job.

What is the future of RTE 2, given the current funding position? The committee is also concerned about the position on local radio broadcasting. Local radio stations provide a tremendous service throughout Ireland. They are very accessible.

An issue of concern to most politicians is the content of "Oireachtas Report". While it provides coverage of proceedings in the Dáil, it often excludes coverage of proceedings in the Seanad. I have been a Member of both Houses.

On the sale of part of the Donnybrook site, I presume the RTE studios would remain on the site.

On the licence fee, I am always amazed by the fact that small pubs are required to pay the same annual fee of €160 as larger pubs such as Wetherspoon, despite the fact that in the case of the latter, the properties involved are often 20 times greater in size, and that a hotelier pays the same fee as a householder. While the rate of VAT was reduced for the hospitality sector from 13% to 9%, there has been no return in that regard as far as RTE or anybody else is concerned, but I do not propose to engage in a "Today Tonight"-type investigation with the delegation.

The committee is very pleased with what is being done by RTE and TG4. TG4 provides tremendous content in terms of documentaries and so on. RTE is the flagship company and all Irish people are proud of it. Programmes such as "The Meaning of Life" hosted by Mr. Gay Byrne, whom I wish a speedy recovery to good health, in which he recently engaged with the Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown, indicate the quality of Irish broadcasting and justify the level of expenditure in respect of the licence fee. The more money that is raised the better for RTE and other local broadcasters. In that regard, there is a need for a better collection system and a recognition that people are opting not to have a television set and instead watching programmes on computer screens and so on. I agree that people are paying massive amounts per month to Sky and other providers.