Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. I apologise if this has been covered as I had to leave the meeting for a moment. I want to ask about the integration of the broadcasting (amendment) Bill into the online safety and media regulation Bill. I suppose this concerns the independent commercial broadcasters and, as the witnesses know well, the community stations. In terms of the community station, it is an exemption from the broadcasting levy. In terms of the commercial radio station, it is a greater flexibility of the advertising times, and that piqued my interest when I heard it. I would like to hear a response from the independent broadcasters. Is that something that has been sought by the independent radio sector for some time? Were the advertising times too rigid? In all of this, I am thinking about the listener. However, I understand that the witnesses' competition is Spotify and subscription services where there are no ads. My concern would be that we would be moving gradually towards a smaller broadcasting hour, as you might call it in television production, and which must be the same in radio. I would welcome a response on the waiving of the levy for the community radio stations and the advertising time for the commercial.