Mr. Ian Kehoe:

Absolutely. We hear a lot of rhetoric about bailouts. It was acknowledged in last year's budget that RTÉ required interim funding to the tune of €15 million after the Future of Media Commission's main recommendation for funding the organisation was rejected. It has always been accepted that RTÉ needs interim Government funding. In this case, interim seems to be multi-year until a mechanism has been devised to replace it. If I were the Government, then of course I would like to see the plan before moving into a longer-term structure regarding how RTÉ will be financed, be that through a media charge, the Revenue collecting the licence fee, etc. There are many different options on the table and they are all outlined in the commission's report.

I must say that I have been utterly impressed by the work the new director general has put in to try to engage with the Government to outline in a transparent and open way where he wants to drive the organisation. He has been assisted by the chair in doing that. It is a level of openness and transparency that, having sat on the board for five years, I have not been accustomed to. I am delighted to see it out there.