Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to make a short contribution in the limited time available to me. This discussion has to be about whether we want a public broadcaster and that is a decision we have to make. A public broadcaster does not have to be RTÉ alone; we are all aware of local radio in our communities and local newspapers, which are struggling to keep the doors open. If we are serious about having a public broadcaster, we need to decide what we mean by that. We know the consequences of not having a decent public broadcaster, which can be seen across the water in America where, as my colleague said, there are all sorts of bizarre news stations, the right wing runs free and fake news is everywhere.

When Lyric FM came to Limerick, it was a statement of intent from RTÉ that it was going to reach out to the regions and show itself to be a national broadcaster. It cannot retreat from Limerick and say the reverse is now the situation. It is disgraceful that staff members in Lyric FM and other RTÉ staff members read about these plans on the front page of The Irish Timesbefore they were briefed. That is a shocking way to treat the people of Limerick and staff members who have been loyal to RTÉ for a number of years.

The decision regarding Lyric FM was a slap in the face of the people of Limerick. Was consideration given by RTÉ to moving more of its services to Limerick? I am not sure if the Minister has visited the fantastic studio there. It is a large studio and I am sure it costs a lot less to run it there than to run one in Ballsbridge. The University of Limerick offered a site which would allow RTÉ to remain in Limerick city which was, I believe, rejected. Can the Minister explain that decision? Did he speak to Dr. Des Fitzgerald from the University of Limerick about the generous offer which would have kept Lyric FM in the city?

If RTÉ wants to be truly a national broadcaster, we need to examine how it has worked in the past. It has not featured working-class voices very often and has been very Dublin 4-centric. The Minister might not like to hear that, but it is true. Hardly anybody in my constituency listens to the discussions which take place on Saturdays and Sundays because they do not raise the issues which affect them.

As stated by Deputy Cullinane, when working-class communities are portrayed on RTÉ, it is often not in a positive but in a negative way. For instance, I am only ever contacted by RTÉ when it is a bad news story, unfortunately, about Limerick. It does not come to me for the good news stories.

See this speech in context