Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his appointment and wish him well. I have no doubt he will be very fair in the Chair. As he has extensive knowledge on this subject going back as far as when he appeared with the Nenagh Players, I am quite certain amateur theatre will feature in a big way in our discussions.

Having served on this committee in the previous Oireachtas, I wish to pay tribute to the excellent secretariat. We produced many reports. This is, as the Chair said, quite a broad-ranging committee covering a wide range of issues. The committee gained a little bit of attention during the last term with some minor issues around RTÉ. We had excellent attendances at those meetings. I am certain we will review some of those issues but it is wide-ranging.

I agree with Deputy Ó Snodaigh on the importance of support of artists. We must continue to pursue the basic income scheme for artists.

Our support for minority sports and accessibility for all to sports is critical. As members may be aware, I am Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence and there will be a good deal of crossover between the two committees, particularly with regard to our interaction with the social media companies. It will be an exciting and informative committee. We have always worked in a collaborative way and I hope we will continue to do so.