Ms Dee Forbes:

I thank the Deputy for his questions. I will try to take them in the order that he asked them. I must make clear that we are not asking for a licence fee increase. We are asking for the licence fee system that underpins public service broadcasting to be reformed. Some €65 million is going uncollected each year. That is through a combination of evasion, with people simply not paying a fee, and a growing tranche of people, currently 15%, claiming not to have a television. Through a loophole in the Broadcasting Act, if people watch RTÉ on their computers at home, they do not have to pay for a licence. We are saying that much money is being lost in the system. We are not asking for more. We are asking for the system underpinning this to be reformed. There is ample money to meet the needs and address some of the areas the Deputy spoke about.

Irish language content is just one of many areas that have been undernourished in the last years. We have had to make sacrifices in every single area. Ten years ago, we were spending €80 million in the independent sector and we are now spending €40 million. Every single genre of activity, whether drama, culture or children's programming, has had programming reduced because we are operating with €100 million less in the last ten years. That is the reality. We cannot continue to do more with less money. We are trying to do the best that we can with the resources that we have.

The Deputy's point on children is well made. Like the Deputy, I grew up in that golden age of television. I had one channel for most of my life and then a second one came along. Kids today have an explosion of content. We compete every day with Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, which are global giants. Having said that, we have a strong, uniquely Irish kids' offering. We have a lot of children's content in the Irish language. We are working with local animation companies to ensure we are supporting the industry for kids.

The issue here is that children are not watching traditional television. For many years, we have seen a move to an online world. We are on YouTube and we are increasing our presence in that space. Anybody who has kids knows that they want to see what they want when they want to, and they will not wait for a linear schedule. There is a lot going on here but do not think for a second that Irish language programming is the only area that is underfunded. There are many, given the situation that we are in.