Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Every little would help the licence fee payer and every small reduction would be a help. If the fee increased a little, many people would say that would be a big imposition and, therefore, it is important if it comes down a little.

I agree it is only a small number of staff at the top of the pyramid, as is the case in all these organisations, who receive large payments. Some are PAYE staff as I understand the figures and others are contractors. However, this was only a device to break the pay guidelines. Let us not cod ourselves; these people do not bring anything to the job except themselves. I am talking about them and, in my first question, I specifically excluded the ordinary staff in RTE. Will the Minister take steps to ensure licence fee money is not paid to condone pay levels that are totally out of line with the industry norm? Other broadcasters do not offer anything like the salaries or conditions RTE provides. Will the Minister ensure in return for the licence fee income that these salaries are brought down to the average across the industry nationwide rather than remaining at the exorbitant levels we have at the moment?

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