Mr. Alan Esslemont:

The licence fee has been reformed throughout Europe and some interesting models have been put in place, especially in Scandinavian countries. It will be a question for the legislators as to how that would be done, but there are many choices. It is possible to come up with a mechanism that is progressive as opposed to the regressive licence fee structure we have now. It will also be possible to have a model which is individualised or household-based. The household charge used to assume there was one television in a household. The emphasis has now shifted to individual preference in media consumption. That is why the Nordic countries have opted for individualisation of the licence fee structure.

The other side of the licence fee issue is that any money which comes into TG4 goes out into the independent sector. We have been pushing it to internationalise.

In the context of a modern economy, people working in the audiovisual sector and the creative economy open many doors for the rest of the economy. It brings in lateral thinking and story creation, and it goes well beyond broadcasting and into games, etc. If we do not have a domestic economy for the audiovisual sector, we will not have an international market for it. Public money invested in public broadcasting has a huge dividend internationally. With Britain out of the European audiovisual market, perhaps Ireland will have a great role in this area in future. I hope that answers the Deputy's question.