Rónán Mullen (Independent)

The delegates are all very welcome. Many of the issues around governance, expenditure and administration have been well and rightly ventilated. I want to turn to an issue of policy, and it is probably most appropriate to direct my question to Mr. Bakhurst and Ms McCarthy. Many are critical of RTÉ because they feel it fails to reflect the variety of perspectives of a silenced, significant minority in this country. I am speaking about the social and political conversation in the nation, not the relative amount of coverage given to political parties or individuals. There is a widespread sense that RTÉ is sometimes more of a State broadcaster than a public service broadcaster. I have spoken to many who believe there is a strong, systemic bias in favour of so-called progressive points of view as opposed to socially conservative points of view. People who have this concern do not experience public service broadcasting in the sense that we all instinctively understand the term. There are in groups and out groups, as they see it. There are groups that are trumpeted and amplified and others that will tend to be kept invisible. It is fair to say that many political anoraks I speak to tend to believe that diverse points of view get a better crack of the whip on Newstalk, and at a significantly lower cost. These issues can be subjective, of course, but I want to know whether RTÉ has any concerns about groupthink or a lack of attention to diversity when it comes to political coverage or coverage of different social and political perspectives. If the delegates accept that there may be a problem in this area, have they any plans to deal with it?