Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

However, in an era of growing disinformation and polarisation in public discourse and society at large, the ongoing provision of quality reporting and content is vital. It is important to draw a distinction between the actions of certain individuals and the many dedicated staff within RTÉ who continue to work hard to bring us high-quality news, entertainment, sport, music and drama, even in the midst of this unprecedented crisis in the organisation. This is made possible largely through funding from TV licence payments. I understand the anger among the public but I ask everyone to think of the absolute value of public service broadcasting to society and to our democracy and that paying the TV licence is the law of the land.

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