Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support what Deputy Ryan said, and had flagged it earlier. Maybe Members of the Oireachtas can be political at times when we do not need to be. I am sure the Minister and the Department were observing the discussions which were ongoing here. It was not necessary for us to finalise the report in order to know the direction the committee was taking. Early on, the majority of the members of the committee had spoken of the Revenue Commissioners as an effective methodology for collecting the moneys owed here. The Minister's Bill does not do that. It looks at a hybrid model and gives the Minister options. I do not know how successful the Bill can be in capturing that €40 million. I suspect it would be less effective than the direction which this committee suggested. The Minister does not have to take on board the views of the committee. Previous Ministers moved this matter on a considerable distance but were unable to get it over the line for political reasons. The Minister identified the problem in the early stages of his time in office, but he immediately took the notion of a broadcasting charge off the agenda without consultation. My party, which facilitates the Minister being in government, made it clear in its manifesto that we support the idea of equality and fairness for all, in the sense that everyone would pay their fair share and those who pay do not carry the burden of others. It is a little disingenuous, if not overly so, for the Minister to suggest that there were delays here in this committee which have delayed the process of getting at that €40 million. In my view, the Minister could have moved more quickly with the Revenue Commissioners, and could have done it six, eight, ten or 12 months ago, and we would not be where we are. Now it is coming into really sharp focus because, as others have said, RTÉ has a plan. The director general has not been before the committee for a while, but I assume she will be in the normal course of events. Presumably she will say the same thing she said last time, and I paraphrase, that she had heard a lot of claptrap and a lot from politicians about the necessity to provide for RTÉ's public service obligation but we have not come forward with the money. The committee has outlined the way to do it. It is now over to the Minister.