Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask this question in the context of the appearance before the Committee of Public Accounts of the Secretary General of the Department, Mr. Mark Griffin, two weeks ago to account for the Department's accounts and expenditure. The largest item of expenditure, accounting for more than half of all departmental spending, was €241 million on broadcasting. In response to questions from me, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that the funding model for public service broadcasting was broken, with television licence evasion rates of 14.5% resulting in lost revenue of approximately €40 million per annum. In light of these figures and the comments of the Secretary General, what are the Minister's plans to reform the funding model for public service broadcasting? I am not trying to catch the Minister out on this issue. I have a great interest in and passion for public service broadcasting and the issue needs to be addressed.

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