Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Deputy Eamon Ryan said it all for me. I do not dispute anything he has said. Despite what some people have said, I think it was important that the committee was involved in this. I refer not only to the input of the committee but also to its role as a forum for all the interest groups in this area. Although the forum could have met behind closed doors to meet all the interest groups, the approach that was taken enabled the public to engage in the committee process. This is about serving the public. I think it is better to use the committees to do that than to ask a firm of consultants to come back with a glossy report, having consulted A, B and C. I will defend my reasons for using the committee for these purposes. I know I was accused of kicking the matter down the road. I have been a member of committees for long enough. I know that everything is submitted to us as a fait accompli. We are given a report and told we can like it or lump it. I gave the committee an opportunity to look into this complex area. It is not just about the provision of funding; it is also about what is done with that funding. I want to be crystal clear in this regard. I have absolutely no intention of increasing the licence fee. I do not believe that the people who are paying for everything should have to pay more for the people who are prepared to pay for absolutely nothing. One will find that it is the same people who pay for nothing in every case and not just in the case of the licence fee.