Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is very important this is done. It is important that it is done in conjunction with the future funding model of RTÉ. There is no better form of financial oversight and it would immediately increase the transparency and accountability needed to restore confidence. This is why we produced the necessary legislation in the weeks following the scandal. It is a simple and direct measure.

I was surprised in the media committee, when I put it to the chief executive of RTÉ, that the Government had not been in touch about RTÉ coming under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General. That should happen more quickly. We should not be waiting to see what should happen.

Sinn Féin has been clear about how we would reform the funding and how we would have oversight in RTÉ. I welcome that the position has somewhat changed in respect of extending the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General to RTÉ since I first raised it with the Minister. However, it is decision time now on RTÉ. There should be no more reports or delays. The public wants to see a plan in place and the Government promised that plan would be in place before the summer recess. That is why holding on until the autumn or later is not what people expect.

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