Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I listened with interest to the case made by the director-general, but despite the presentation, which was very professional, the truth is that many people believe RTÉ is self-satisfied, bloated and Dublin-centric. I have a number of questions for the Department. A report done by An Coimisinéir Teanga said that RTÉ was not fulfilling its statutory obligation in relation to Irish language broadcasting on television. Is it intended by the Department to strengthen the legislative provisions in relation to what is public service broadcasting, that is, what are we paying RTÉ for? Has the Department commissioned any reports or studies on the comparative costs of, for example, an hour of TG4 producing iSport versus RTÉ, an hour on TG4 of documentaries versus RTÉ and an hour of light entertainment on TG4 compared to RTÉ, to see how RTÉ compares per hour in terms of output, allowing the TG4 to have higher costs because it is doing it in a minority language?

The next question for the Department is as follows. RTÉ was given €10 million today but were the needs of TG4 taken into account in deciding whether there be a fund for TG4? Is it a case of the crying baby getting the bottle? I think many of us might believe that that was the case. The Department is reviewing public service broadcasting. For many people in rural Ireland, public service broadcasting in terms of news, sport, etc., is complemented hugely by local radio. Is it intended to consider giving State funding directly to subsidise the local equivalent of the national equivalent in terms of news, sport, current affairs, etc.?

Can RTÉ explain why the salaries of the staff for comparable grades in RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta are lower than those in RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 for the same grades?