Ms Emma Bowell:

We believe there is great potential for growth. There was a lot of interest when we first started meeting with what was then the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, BCI, to look at the whole policy in respect of community television. There was interest from Galway and Kerry. We also have members based in Leitrim. People are interested in this all around the country. It is much more technically feasible now. When we first started, it was very expensive to get good broadcast quality cameras. As we all know, with phones and 4K technology, it is now much more feasible for people to create content, which we then curate. We believe there is certainly scope for growth. In Cork Community Television, where I am, we have covered local elections from City Hall along with other civic events like Culture Night, Heritage Week and the St. Patrick's Day Festival locally. We are able to cover the full events rather than just small snippets. Another example is the Lord Mayor's community and voluntary awards. We have been able to cover all of these kinds of civic events over the years. We believe there is room for this. Another thing that was mentioned in the Report of the Future of Media Commission is the idea of community media hubs. This is something we have now set up in Cork. We believe there is scope for this across the country. On the one hand, we are looking for financial support but, at the same time, there is an incredibly vibrant community and voluntary sector all over the country. A lot of the infrastructure is already there and some of the technical costs are actually decreasing. That is to be welcomed.