Mr. Alan Esslemont:

The key wording is "recommendations for improving the provision of Irish language services". The Future of Media Commission recognised that Irish language services in the media were not at a proper level. There is much to be done. TG4 has laid out a vision of benchmarking ourselves against European television broadcasters like S4C and EITB.

Last year was the 50th anniversary of Raidió na Gaeltachta and it is surprising that there is still only one Irish language radio station in that portfolio. Irish language speakers are no different from English language ones. There are differences in demographics, and there is a need to reflect those demographics. For that to happen, State investment is needed. The State has a choice between continuing down the path of monolingualism and grabbing the bull by the horns and creating a bilingual society. The media is core to that.