Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I do not blame anybody here, but it is very unsatisfactory that we have quite a disparate group of amendments clumped together. I do not know how the mindset works, but it does not make much sense to me. We are dealing with many different things all at once.

The concern expressed in amendment No. 92 is that the Bill provides for a code to be set out by the Minister and the corporation would have to comply with it, but there would be no ongoing relationship with the independent sector for any difficulties that would arise. That is why I put forward this amendment.

I accept that the Minister has made an effort to make RTE co-operate with independent producers in marketing programmes outside the State, in order to exploit the potential of programmes that have been made. It is not clear to me that the Bill deals with the fundamental concern. I would have thought that it was in RTE's interest to co-operate. It seems odd there is a question of having to put that in legislation. If we are talking about the issue of rights and secondary rights we must go further than what the Minister is doing. Very often, the difficulty is that RTE does not have a direct interest in promoting and exploiting, whereas the independent producer has a greater interest in doing so but may not have the resources to pursue it.

Regarding film, I know the argument about setting targets, which seem very modest. The Minister has no problem setting targets in other parts of this Bill. I thought this was a floor we would not fall below rather than being penal.

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