Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Ní Raghallaigh and Dr. Mathews for joining us. I wish Ms Ní Raghallaigh every success in the role. Bhí Gaeilge álainn líofa agam nuair a bhí mé i bhfad níos óige, ach tá sé beagnach go léir caillte agam anois. Leanfaidh mé ar aghaidh i mBéarla. Ms Ní Raghallaigh brings with her an extraordinary legacy of innovation and the development of exceptional content during her years with TG4. I thank her for that. It is the shining light in Irish broadcasting. I am not just saying that as a Galwegian but as somebody who values exceptionally high-quality content that reflects the very best of Irish culture in all of its diversity in the 21st century and instils in me a great sense of pride in who we are as a people and the things we cherish. I thank her for that work. I would love if she could bring some of that fairy dust or magic into her work with RTÉ. The future of RTÉ lies in producing that kind of content. Senator Cassells made the same point. I think of my son who lives in Philadelphia and my nephew who lives in Perth. How they consume their media is vastly different to the way I consumed media when I was their age. People are able to access, view and share the things that are the very best of who we are as a people, no matter where they live in the world. That is exceptionally important. The chairmanship of an organisation of the scale and stature of RTÉ is significant. Deep in her own heart, Ms Ní Raghallaigh obviously has ambitions as to what her legacy will be at the end of her term. We can focus on that. In all of our discussions about the licence fee and the value we get from it, we must remember that every country should have a public broadcasting entity. In our case, that is RTÉ, and there are similar entities in other countries. Such entities focus on promoting and valuing the very best of the culture of that country. In a world that is becoming evermore cacophonous with some very dubious and questionable content flowing onto our laptops, smart phones and iPads, it is a significant role that RTÉ should focus on in the future.

I will return to consider my son in Philadelphia and my nephew in Perth. There are 35 million Americans who would make the case that they have Irish ancestry. What plans does RTÉ have to develop content for our diaspora around the world? There are 70 million people around the world who are either full Irish citizens or who claim Irish ancestry. That is something that RTÉ has failed to tap into in the past and should focus on tapping into in the future. In a world where mobile devices can give us instant access to any broadcaster on any side of the planet at any time of the day or night, RTÉ has a major role to play in our ability to connect with our people around the world in a more meaningful way and to begin to nurture a sense of an Irish community worldwide. TG4 has done extraordinary work in that area on a smaller scale. Is that something that Ms Ní Raghallaigh anticipates as a part of her role as chair in the future? As innovation in RTÉ is ongoing, will that become part of her plan and part of the ambition and vision?