Mr. S?amus Dooley:

I am not at all opposed to a powerful regulator. My concern is that the regulator would have so much to do that it may not be powerful enough in some areas, and actually being powerful but having more focused power - if that makes sense - would be a better way of doing it.

Also, the Senator has rightly mentioned the issue around the digital services directive. The Senator referred to the issue of regulation. The largest department will be the legal department. They would be regulating bodies and international companies, some of which have budgets far in excess not just of the commission but in some cases probably of the Irish Government. They would be doing that in their spare time, in between advising on media mergers, funding, and all sorts of other things. That is my concern.

On the issue of appointments and transparency, I do not have a difficulty with public hearings for the chairs of public bodies. A new chair is about to be appointed to RTÉ. That Chair has an influence on public service broadcasting and public policy in Ireland. I am relying only on ThePhoenix magazine, which might or might not be published, about who might get that chair. I absolutely have no difficulty-----