Mr. John Purcell:

The section we are seeking funding for is the 20% news and current affairs which is part of our broadcasting licences which we are required to do. News cannot be monetised. The 20% news and current affairs cost a disproportionate amount to produce. The precedent of providing public money for support of broadcasting is well established. It has been done through Sound and Vision for years. RTÉ receives funding for its news output.

We think the principles are well established so we just need to see it transferred. I point out that independent radio stations command in the region of 70% of time spent listening to radio. We have seen in the Reuters report today the role of radio as a news source and also the trust in which it is held. We have also seen that Ireland is far ahead of other jurisdictions in relation to this. We feel the time to act to preserve and expand on it is now rather than waiting until we start going down the tubes at which point the additionality allows us to be funded.