Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I think that would be a sensible proposal. It would take the burden off. I do not know what Ms Forbes was referring to when she spoke about "Ireland's outdated and inefficient collection system". I assume she is in favour of Revenue being involved the collection of this money, as proposed by Senator McDowell. I voted against that proposal because I am not in favour of any more money being taken from people by Revenue. However, I am in favour of charges being put on social media platforms that gain significantly from advertising. People can watch RTÉ content on those platforms, but they do not have to pay anything in return. Approximately 80% of most advertising is gained by two companies - Google and Facebook. How would the witnesses respond to the introduction of some form of taxation on social media players to fund public broadcasting, which all of us are in favour of and want to defend?