Mr. John McCarthy:

It is contracted to RTÉ to provide the weather forecast and that arises from a procurement process. That would not be a barrier to it performing the type of role envisaged by the Deputy. For example, it provides the forecasting required under its contract and, in addition, during severe weather events Met Éireann staff appear on RTÉ morning, noon and night in various contexts. We want to ensure that there is clarity regarding the role which we may ultimately assign to Met Éireann in terms of whom a broadcast should reach and whether it sits within the broader programme of communications which must be put in place for communicating climate change and all of the issues that go with it.