Mr. John Purcell:

Yes, something like that would be appropriate. As I understand it, the commission was initially meant to report this year, but due to Covid that was postponed to next year. The job is only half done when the commission reports. The committee will then need to debate the issues, legislation will need to be drafted and discussed, and then it must go through the process. We are talking about two or three years down the line. We have had experience in the past of reports being done to point a way forward and then, for example, an election comes.

We think there is a need for an interim body, such as an emergency task force, to look at practical solutions that can be put in place to support radio, RTÉ and newspapers until such time as the broader picture can be sketched out.