Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

When the main broadcasting Bill, or the large broadcasting Bill, as we have been calling it, was published last September, a question that occurred to everyone concerned the whereabouts of the DTT section. It soon became clear, as Professor Colum Kenny of DCU predicted rightly, that the Government would need to publish a second Bill to amend the main broadcasting Bill and to provide for DTT, which is before the House today. The Government had no intention of putting the main Bill through the House.

The heads of the main Bill were historic because it was the first legislation to be submitted for full consultation to the people through the Oireachtas website. At least 60,000 hits were recorded in the main consultation period. It seems cruel, but typical of the Government, that a Bill so invigilated — our committee held two days of hearings on it — should be allowed to wither on the vine as the Government passes out of office. It is typical of the Government to kick issues to touch and to hope they will go away until after the general election.

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