Mr. Kevin Bakhurst:

I hear, understand and agree with much of the Deputy's anger. As I have said, my long-term game is to protect the people who do the job, day in and day out, at RTÉ and not to allow us to get anywhere near anything such as compulsory redundancies, which is why I need to take early action now to manage the cash. I do not disagree with the Deputy at all. It is frustrating in the extreme, as the committee has heard from me, that a small number of people have inflicted this on an organisation that has enormous value to most people in the country. All I can focus on is delivering transparency and tackling inequity and inequality where I see them in the organisation. I know the leadership team are fully on board in that regard. I will also focus on delivering a better organisation that is more accountable to people. I understand that for many licence fee payers, €160 is a lot of money. People sometimes make choices between spending that money on the licence fee or on school uniforms. Some people are forced to make such choices. However, I ask people to consider what they are getting from RTÉ and the value involved, and the changes we are trying to make. I will do everything I can to continue making the case and to continue presenting an RTÉ worth investing in.