Mr. Michael O'Keeffe:

There has not been a formal review of the levy but we have engaged with the various contractors over the period and have consulted on the manner in which it will be done. The levy is deemed by most people to be a fair system. They do not like paying it but the regulatory burden is based on the level of regulation and I do not believe anyone has an issue with the system.

From that point of view it is fair. Will it result in a reduction to RTE? It will, although we are unsure of the actual figure. It is a 50% reduction in what they currently pay, but then the broadcaster would lose on the total. It would result in a reduction of somewhere between €1.4 million and €1.6 million. That would be the loss on the basis of what we are talking about.

Deputy Stanley referred to the current budget. We do not envisage the budget of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland increasing. The budget is €4.8 million, give or take a little. That will not increase. The way the Bill would operate means that the levy would provide €2.4 million and the rest would come from the licence fee. We do not see this arrangement creating extra funds from BAI.

Deputy Ryan asked about re-transmission. We support the principle - we are clear on that. We talked about a regulatory impact assessment and international comparators. It is clear that much work has been done in this area and we should welcome that this work has been done. In any legislation of this nature the regulatory impact is important - I am not kicking to touch.