Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy has given quite a succinct statement of the Commissioner's position, but in the end of the day, Commissioners do not make the final decision on directives. They have to go to EU Council, Parliament and so on. As that process continues, Ireland will clearly maintain its position. We have the support, on a consistent basis — in many respects we have led this — of 12 other member states which have argued for this fundamental approach to determining which member states' national rules should apply to any given broadcasting service. A solution will have to be worked out. On more than one occasion I have told the Commissioner and the UK Presidency that we would like serious and meaningful engagement by the Commission on the matter. The Deputy is correct that the Commissioner has taken a trenchant view on this aspect of the directive. We also have an equally strong position on it. Unless there is some movement on both sides, there will be difficulty in getting the directive through. We will not be bullied into this but will use whatever means are available to achieve our aims or a reasonable compromise.

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