Ms Dee Forbes:

I will respond to the questions on RTE's regional policy. First, RTE is proud of its regional coverage down through the years. We have 14 regional offices throughout the country which employ approximately 250 staff. Two of our major services, Raidió na Gaeltachta and Lyric FM, come from Galway and Limerick. On top of this, a huge amount of content is produced from our Cork studio, including "The Daily Show" which is transmitted live in the afternoons and in respect of which there are between 40 and 60 staff are hired on an ongoing basis. We are committed to the regions. Shows such as "Nationwide" are an indication of our commitment to developing and showcasing stories from the regions. Other examples of our commitment across the regions include our coverage of The National Ploughing Championships and other activities. As I said, we are very proud of our coverage across the regions but I accept there are opportunities for us to do more. Work is currently under way on the use of digital services to showcase more from the regions. I hope to be able to bring results in that regard to the committee very soon.