Mr. Kevin Bakhurst:

The Deputy mentioned the Future of Media Commission. One of the things it said in its report was that, until the funding is resolved, RTÉ would need extra funding year in, year out, which we had last year and for which we are very grateful. This is before we even get to the fall in TV licence sales. It is an ongoing situation. As I said earlier and I will say it again, I very much welcome the discussion that is now current and the intent there seems to be on all sides to resolve this now once and for all. Public service broadcasting has huge value to society. If you look at the countries that do not have it, you would not want to live there. To find a sustainable way that preserves the independence of RTÉ and which is fairer would be most welcome. I welcome the debate and I hope it is resolved soon because we do not like the uncertainty and it does not help the independent sector either when we are trying to plan programming for the years ahead.