Ms Dee Forbes:

It is important to point out that because we are a public service broadcaster, there are a number of services that would not exist if there was not any public funding. Not every service has a commercial aspect. For example, Raidió na Gaeltachta is a public service channel. It is important to say that we would not be able to sustain all of our services if we did not have commercial funding. It is the blend of both that allows us to fulfil our objects. Over the past number of years, our revenue has fallen but our obligations have not. We are maintaining the services to fulfil our public requirement. The Deputy mentioned 2FM. The very principle of public service broadcasting is that it should be a universal offering for all ages and 2FM fulfils a particular role in that younger demographic. Without it, quite honestly, we may have a severe disadvantage. Therefore, 2FM fulfils a unique and specific purpose and an age demographic that is engaging with RTÉ on a daily basis and is very valuable both to us as an organisation and to advertisers.