Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The online photograph might be an issue too.

Deputies Bríd Smith and Eugene Murphy will agree that local radio produces a great deal of live sports broadcasts and that it is not possible for it to facilitate advertising and provide live broadcasts for games, whether hurling or football. That is the reason for this, to allow them that flexibility. The minutage would not increase but they are being penalised for broadcasting matches at present. This allows the flexibility to be built in at local radio level and for RTÉ. It is a very valuable service that we all avail of around the country. Many young Irish citizens abroad want to be able to access that service to hear how their local clubs are doing through media players.

I thank those who contributed to this debate. It is a very important and necessary discussion. I welcome the opportunity to engage on these issues. Something that did not come up in the course of the contributions is that a report by the most senior civil servant in the State was published online this week. It was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday. I refer to Martin Fraser's report on the strategic communications unit. These sentences from the report are quite significant:

... the issue of the financial health of the Irish media should be a matter of national policy debate.

A thriving, independent Irish media – whether in the public or private sector - is essential to a healthy society. In the modern world of global media, online platforms and reduced audiences and readerships, it cannot and should not be taken for granted.

This must not, of course, involve any element of inappropriate influence from the Government.

This whole area involves important and complex policy issues which should be the subject of consideration by the Government, the Oireachtas and in the wider public debate.

What the committee has done facilitates that. There is now a role for Government to move forward in these areas and that is what we intend to do. Public service broadcasters play an important role in our democratic society. It is essential that they receive adequate and stable funding to ensure the continued delivery of their role and the ability to meet their remit as set out in legislation.

I accept the challenges that exist. I commend the committee on its work on this issue. I thank the Chairman, the Vice Chairman and members of the committee for their work on this report and the pre-legislative scrutiny report. I intend to bring these issues to Government soon.

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