Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the witnesses. I find this very engaging. I will point my questions mainly at broadcasting but I would like a reply from everybody on the following points. We had a meeting here last week and I left with a few more questions than answers. I wish to get clarification on a few key points. First, I am fully behind everybody in this room and what they are doing. They are broadcasting about community and are independent broadcasters. They are getting into every sitting room, getting into every nursing home and getting right into the core. They have their finger on the pulse. I often wonder what we would be like without them. Sometimes we talk about independent broadcasting. Newstalk and Today FM are independent – not too many feel that. I am not just naming them but they are giving us a choice. We have a choice. If we are in the car and we do not like what we hear on the national broadcaster, we can turn on something else. If we do not have that, we are in trouble. That is my number one concern.

My second concern is, if the witnesses do not get the funding we are discussing now, will that dilute the quality of the product they are giving us? I want to be clear on this. Some €21.1 million was given to Coimisiún na Meán, and less than €850,000 went to broadcasting. That is roughly just over 6% - between 6% and 7%.