John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I would like to draw Mr. Curran's attention to a couple of matters before we conclude. I wanted to wait until the end before making a few comments. He said in his presentation that RTE "is established as a dual-funded, not-for-profit, statutory body". He explained that "its purpose and activities are guaranteed by legislation, it is independently regulated and it is not accountable to wealthy business people, offshore private equity investors or the Government, but rather to the public which funds it". There is a lot in that statement. Is Mr. Curran suggesting that people with bottomless pockets, who are neither accountable nor regulated, are putting RTE at a serious disadvantage? I feel this is an aspect of Mr. Curran's presentation that needs to be addressed.