Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

——where we have to be restrained in commentary. It is as if a person used freedom of speech to shout in this House or in a crowded place, "Fire, fire."

The question of balance also cropped up in reference to the referendum on the Lisbon treaty. Obviously, I cannot fault in any way RTE or other broadcasting stations for fulfilling their statutory responsibilities. I have serious reservations, however, concerning the McKenna judgment. As somebody from the party opposite put it to me, the leader of Fine Gael got only as much coverage in that debate as a spokesperson from Sinn Féin, despite the vast disproportion between party strengths. It seems that an inherent weakness in that judgment, abstracting from it the question of the Lisbon treaty, is that it means that no matter how universal the consensus is on a topic, anyone who is against it is entitled to equal coverage, even if that person does not represent many people. It is, in other words, a golden opportunity for relatively small groups or parties to gain a higher profile. I suspect that in some cases this is done somewhat cynically, that the judgment is seen as an opening and an opportunity.

After the Lisbon treaty referendum most of us wanted, in principle, to have a referendum on children's rights. I am not surprised there was a pause for thought on the grounds that it would greatly amplify the position of those who would have a minority view. I consider that while respecting the voice and decision of the people, the price is considerable and there has been considerable damage to our interests as a result. I do not believe that being in that position has made the last few weeks any easier.

I will conclude by making two or three points on religious broadcasting. I fully endorse Deputy Crawford's comments on the value and importance of religious broadcasting both at national and local community levels. Second — I speak from a minority point of view — I wish people would leave the Angelus alone. A former archbishop of the Church of Ireland stated that he had no problem whatsoever with it and that is the authoritative view. While we might not necessarily understand its full religious significance, that does not matter as there must be an attitude of live and let live.

I may depart from consensus in respect of my final point. I have reservations about unrestricted religious advertising. In the past, Ireland had problems of proselytism and people should not underestimate the attractiveness a wide open system would have for proselytisers of a particular evangelical type. I have no problem with noticeboard-type bulletins.

While this may simply be my personal perspective, religion is not a soap powder and consequently I dislike the idea of it being placed at the level of other consumer products. While I accept the converse point that churches must use modern methods of communication like anyone else, I would like to think the churches are a little way above the marketplace.

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