Ms Dee Forbes:

First, I thank the Senator for his comments and support for RTÉ, about which we are very pleased. Long may it continue. I have a little tip for him in being on the road so much. I do not know if he is aware of this, but RTÉ News Now has a fantastic app he could download on his phone. If he is in the car and travels around a lot, he should download it. It has the most up-to-date news from all around the country. In fact, I will dovetail that point with our regionalisation piece because the Senator is right, regionalisation is a huge focus for RTÉ. Obviously, we have offices and correspondents throughout the country and many of our programmes focus on bringing stories from the regions or localities to the public. We will absolutely continue doing so. With the advent of digital and the proliferation of mobile phones, having a strong app, with a regional focus, was very important and we were very keen on having it. Many stories come in every day from throughout the country that do not make the "RTÉ News: Six One" or "RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock". Now we have a place on our app for them. If one opens the app, it is broken down regionally and one can see more stories. If one wants to open the Munster, the Connacht or the Dublin section, one can drill down and find more local stories than one would on "RTÉ News: Six One" or "RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock" because physically we do not have the space on these shows for them.

One of the great advantages of the digital era is that we now have platforms on which we can tell more stories in that way. It also allows people to catch up when they are travelling. The app is updated regularly; there is video and it sends notifications, if people want them. If the Senator does not have the app on the phone, he should download it to keep up to date with what is happening throughout the country.

The Senator asked how we would spend the extra €8.5 million. He also raised the issue of top talent pay.