Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It was announced yesterday that, as part of the budget process, that the Government has committed an additional €9 million to RTÉ. That money largely comes funding restored to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. That is it, however. We are in a situation where the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, has said that it would be in real trouble if it did not get €30 million and TG4 has a similar problem. Is what was announced yesterday the sum total of what this Government intends to do to help Irish media? Our Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and the Environment recommended a suite of different measures that could provide further funding. In a world where all the big international media are becoming increasingly wealthy and dominant in Ireland and Irish media are in crisis, is that all we can expect from this Government to help Irish broadcast media?

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