Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Part of the difficulty here is that people have a difficulty in their minds deciding what is public servicing broadcasting and what is not. I refer to a block grant approach. This commission will help us, as a society, to have a more serious think about what elements are indispensable. Objective news and current affairs would seem to be indispensable. The public, however much it might like the likes of "Fair City", is uncomfortable with the idea of public service money - public funds - being involved in any way, directly or indirectly, because one is dealing with the principle of fungibility of money here. That is why I am trying to tease out whether the future is about neither a digital broadcasting charge nor, indeed, a licence, but about a block grant from Government to cover what are considered essential public service activities. Does Ms Forbes have any metrics? Does RTÉ have a means of measuring, or a distinction, within the organisation? If there is, as I understand it, €189 million coming from the licence and about €150 million coming from advertising, does RTÉ distinguish in its budgets between what can be called its public service and its non-public service broadcasting remit? Which is funding the other, as Ms Forbes sees it, or according to whatever metrics RTÉ has?