Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I thank Deputy McManus for accepting that what we are trying to do in amendment No. 23 encapsulates the thinking in her amendment. Amendment No. 23 is crucial in that it attempts to give the new authority as much power as possible to ensure employment conditions within the industry are maintained. There is a difficulty in this regard because in many instances we are dealing with quite small companies with limited resources operating in a very competitive market. They may not be able to match the employment conditions and terms that would apply in much larger, probably public service, broadcasters. We must be careful to get the balance right. We do not want to overly restrict companies, but at the same time we want to ensure the right pay, conditions and other employment standards exist for the industry so as to maintain the rights of individuals and overall standards in the industry.

We need our broadcasting industry to be well supported, funded and paid so we get good investigative journalism and high standards. It is difficult to legislate for that, but there are bodies close to that and others that apply those standards. I wanted to give a clear signal in my amendment to the regulatory authority that it would have to take this into account in the issuing of licences and other work. It must be conscious that we do not just want a competition-driven model that brings wages and other prices down to the bare bone. We must maintain certain standards and ask the authority to take that into account. It must also take account of the issue concerning children.

On the second matter, the reordering of functions is primarily for clarity and is not included to introduce major new functions. However, given the timeline for us to get this Bill through and the approach we have taken, which was to accept amendments on Committee Stage, various aspects of the Bill, by nature, require reiteration in order to take into account changes that are being made. That is only right. It is better to amend and change legislation rather than stick rigidly to a format we might have had on First Stage. That is the reason we have five Stages in our legislative process.

The specific concern of Deputy McManus in terms of carbon is a real concern and demonstrates the importance of this legislation. The loss of a local radio station, for whatever reason, is a major change in people's lives and can be a significant loss. When people get into a pattern of listening to certain programmes, not being able to hear one of them has a real effect. The issue in terms of the spectrum allocation is a good example of what Deputy McManus is concerned about, the liaison that exists between ComReg and BCI in this area. ComReg holds the responsibility in the spectrum area.

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