Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator McDowell is right that €52 billion is there. It is part of what we are looking at, with regard to whether there is a far more effective way of collecting it, in terms of the broadcasting (amendment) Bill. We will bring forward primary legislation on this issue. The working group is specifically looking at how we could implement in practical terms some of these measures. The Senator raised the issue of bedrooms in hotels. If we look around the room we see four televisions. Each colleague has a television in his or her office. There are more than 1,000 televisions in Leinster House for a single TV licence. It is very hard to justify this. Many areas need to be examined with regard to how the television licence applies. With regard to Senator McDowell's question on who funds advertising, it is funded by RTÉ itself.

To answer Deputy Dooley, what we are trying to do is come up with how to implement it in practical terms. If I came forward with a proposal that we could not implement on the ground, he would be the very one who would come in here and tell me he had told me so, that I would not be able to implement it and that I had got it wrong.

The working group, which comprises various Departments and agencies, including the Revenue Commissioners, will examine how we will implement this practically and maximise the return on television licence collections.

Senator McDowell is correct. If a significant amount of money was raised, we could consider a reduction in the overall cost of the licence to consumers. I am glad that the Senator has changed his approach to this matter. Before the committee hearings, he was critical of the fact that people would have to pay for television licences for their second homes, perhaps in County Roscommon or elsewhere. Instead of calls for incremental increases, there is the potential for a reduction in the overall licence fee once we determine how to implement this.

Deputy Dooley asked about local radio stations. Through the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill and due to the important role that they play, we intend to reduce the fees that such stations pay to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI. This will provide them with a financial benefit. If anyone doubts the public service role that local radio plays, he or she should remember how, when electricity went out around the country during Storm Ophelia, the only way the emergency services and National Emergency Co-ordination Group could get messages out to the public was through local radio. It was an effective tool, as were the national radio services provided by the private and public sectors. We want to see that role acknowledged through the Bill. We also want to provide bursaries for young journalists in the broadcasting sector. My preference is to see those bursaries extended into print journalism, but we must start somewhere and this legislation provides for that.