Mr. Rory Coveney:

The Deputy is right to point out that there is a divergence between the domestic players and the international ones. According to a European Broadcasting Union assessment of the market that was conducted earlier this year, the value of digital advertising increased from approximately €100 million in 2009 to almost €600 million in 2018. That money is going largely to two companies, namely, Facebook and Google, which are headquartered here. These massive global players are resident here. The audiovisual media services directive, which is due to be brought into Irish law by the end of next year, facilitates the possible introduction by Ireland or any member state of a system that would, in effect, place a levy on these entities. Such a fund could be used to create an Irish content fund that would invest in Irish programming. We would support such a measure because it would create a much-needed stimulus. I think it should be a contestable fund for Irish programme makers and Irish broadcasters of all hues, rather than for RTÉ alone. There is no doubt that there is an asymmetry between the amount of money that these companies are making here and their relative lack of investment in Irish programming.