Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachtaí who contributed. I thank the Minister and Minister of State for their responses.

While I appreciate everything we received from the Minister and Minister of State this evening, there is a simple thing being lost with regard to the Bill that has been presented. The Bill simply puts RTÉ accounts under the oversight of the Comptroller and Auditor General. There is no need to lump this one simple change in with an omnibus Bill that includes the transposition of the European Media Freedom Act, the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations and the one-man crusade of the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, against allowing Coimisiún na Meán impose a levy on Netflix and other multinational streaming corporations that would benefit Ireland's film-making sector. We can address all of those proposals as part of the broadcasting (amendment) Bill. We can address this one simple proposal right now if there is the political will to do it. If we all agree that RTÉ should be under the oversight of the Comptroller and Auditor General, and I have heard nobody disagree, then we can pass this Bill into law without delay in order that the Comptroller and Auditor General can get to work right away in making sure RTÉ's accounts are in order.

I questioned the Comptroller and Auditor General on this matter at last week's meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts in response to some comments made here on the floor of the House to the effect that he had beaten me to it and that this was a revenue train. I got clarity from both the clerk to the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General that this is not the case and might not be for some time. I am not entirely sure if the Minister understands his own timelines. He said earlier that it was May of last year when he initiated legislation and brought it forward slightly in announcements made in October. However, it was actually only this week that general scheme of his amendment Bill has brought forward.

Despite all the goodwill in the world, these things inevitably take time. The Government's opposition to the Bill before the House and its efforts to delay the move to place RTÉ under the aegis of the Comptroller and Auditor General only enable further bad governance, another free for all and more squandering of money. If we are all singing from the same hymn sheet, I do not understand why there would be any reluctance to progress the Bill. We all want the same thing. This represents step one when it comes to the bigger picture, and the rest could be done by means of the Bill the Minister is going to introduce.

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