Mr. John Purcell:

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Independent Broadcasters of Ireland welcomes this opportunity to give our views on this Bill, and we are very grateful for members' time. I am the chair of Independent Broadcasters of Ireland. I am accompanied today by the chief executive of IBI, Michael Kelly. I will open with our introductory statement and hand over to Michael.

Independent Broadcasters of Ireland constitutes 34 radio stations deeply embedded in the social and cultural fabric of the nation, broadcasting locally, regionally and nationally. We are a hugely successful sector and vibrant in terms of listenership. Today, we were delighted to note that our members are among the most trusted media brands in the country.

The independent radio sector has a combined share of 70% of all time spent listening to radio in this country, which is over 2.5 million listeners every day. Our member stations provide huge employment and hugely valuable services to listeners. We provide a hugely diverse range of high-quality public service programming including news and current affairs, local and national sports coverage, a range of music and factual and information programming. We play a key role in our members’ lives. We are unique in Irish media. We are regulated, free to air and we have a unique connection with our listeners.

The work of our stations has been hugely impressive during recent emergencies, but we are on the air 365 days of the year for emergencies, elections and day-to-day life. The work continues every single day of the year. I will now hand over to Michael Kelly.