Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Given the crisis of confidence that is there - and Mr. Bakhurst's battle is to restore confidence - both in his approach to date and the approach of the chair in recent months to try to restore confidence, I am quite happy that they are making the best efforts. They are dealing with a lot of legacy issues, and they do need to be dealt with, but the approach that has been taken by Mr. Bakhurst and the chair so far has been broadly welcome. I welcome the fact that they are engaging with the staff.

It is important to engage with the independent production sector as well. There is a long road to go and Mr. Bakhurst is aware of that. It is fair to say we are going to see a number of reports between now and the end of the year, on top of all we have seen, as he mentioned. Those reports are not likely to make pleasant reading for RTÉ. More damaging detail will emerge in the next few months. It is going to be very difficult to convince the Government to provide a bailout in the short term and then to address the long-term issues. How confident is Mr. Bakhurst that he can convince the Government and, more important, the public at large that the governance and culture structures will, by the end of this year, be significantly different from what we have seen in the past?