Mr. Pat Kiely:

There is quite a lot to cover so we might work back. As the person most mentioned in the last contribution I will speak of my references to RTE. There were probably as many references to Vincent Browne in that set of questions. Vincent Browne's contribution to TV3 has been extraordinary and really gave us the foundation that we are now building on. In many ways, he will still be part of it. As the committee is probably aware, he is working on a documentary series for us. I will bring to the members' attention one of his closing statements on his last show. In crediting and thanking the quite considerable number of people who helped to make that show what it was, he acknowledged that in the ten years he worked on the show the TV3 management never interfered editorially. I would let Vincent Browne be the testimonial to TV3's reputation editorially.

I will speak about the partnership with Virgin Media and how it has helped. I reiterate what I have already said in my statement. Virgin Media saved TV3 from obscurity. We were holding on through the recession and the investment that Virgin Media has put into the business says it all. I will come back to that point later.

With regard to what TV3 has been doing around news and current affairs, our coverage is truly independent. It is an extraordinary testament to the talent within TV3. Previously, TV3 news and current affairs talent ended up in Donnybrook. Members would know this. Much of the talent would work its way through only to be taken away. We have changed that and we have become a great ground for new talent in front of and behind the cameras. Mick McCaffrey who runs our newsroom and Aoife Stokes who runs our factual division are both here. Bill Malone, who joined us last year as our director of programming, might like to come in at this point to speak about TV3's strategy around content overall.