Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It would be helpful if Ms Costello could find a breakdown. It would help the committee in its formulation of a report and recommendations to have those figures.

In our previous session, representatives of the public service broadcaster, RTÉ, were before the committee. They were clear that advertising is separate from content creation. Towards the end of the session, they conceded that when it comes to sponsorship of shows and programming, advertisers have an input. That is interesting. I am interested in hearing the views of all the witnesses in that regard. There is a crossover there and it would be concerning if sponsors were influencing the content of shows. This applies not only to broadcast media but also to print media. There are examples of paid for opinion pieces where it is often not clear that they are paid for. They influence public opinion and are, essentially, advertisements. I am interested in hearing the views of our guests.