Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his response. In 2007, did the Minister receive the Indecon report on costings within RTE that was referred to in last weekend's newspapers? What actions did he take, or insist that RTE take, as a result of the recommendations in that report? I understand the Indecon report indicated that Ireland's national broadcaster had higher per capita staffing costs than the BBC, and that the gap was growing. It suggested that the station needed to develop a corporate commitment to cost savings. It criticised RTE's failure to undertake any formal benchmarking exercise over recent years, whether by comparison with public service broadcasters outside Ireland or commercial broadcasters in Ireland and elsewhere. It pointed out the obvious fact that 50% of RTE's costs can be attributed to staffing costs. It said that while other public service broadcasters, like the BBC, were successfully introducing ambitious systems to reduce staffing costs, the opposite was happening in RTE. A series of warning signs should have been noted by RTE and the Minister before the downturn and the subsequent collapse in RTE's advertising revenues. Did the Minister act on the recommendations in the Indecon report? He said he has had a number of conversations with Cathal Goan and others in RTE. Were those conversations influenced by the independent report I have mentioned?

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