Results 1,721-1,740 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: While I agree with what the Minister just said, it surprises me. RTE chases ratings the same as every other channel. It has a public service remit and on current affairs and sport it does a really good job. However, on most of the television outside current affairs it is all about ratings. RTE defends the salaries it pays to its top earners by saying these are the people who deliver the...
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: The information will not even be in it.
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: May I reply on my amendment No. 89 as I will not have a chance to come back on that later?
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: I can do it now as it will not take much time. I suspect the Minister will not accept it. However, I want to make a point. Section 124, which the Minister claims caters for what I am trying to provide in amendment No. 89, does not really deal with it. There is more than a subtle difference between the two. Section 124(8) states: "The Authority shall within a period of not more than 3...
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: It is in the context of whether RTE is adequately funded and not in the broader context of the market.
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 83: In page 103, line 34, to delete "statement" and substitute "Charter". We already had this discussion on committee Stage. A charter is much stronger than a statement. A statement is a signal of intent. A charter is a set of rules with which a corporation must comply. A charter which is enforceable is the appropriate term in this section instead of "statement"....
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: Will I have the opportunity to come back one more time quickly on that because if amendment No. 84 is passed then amendment No. 85 falls?
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: It is okay then.
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 89: In page 111, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: "(7) At the direction of the Minister, or at intervals of no greater than three years, the Authority shall prepare a report analysing the funding arrangements for public service broadcasting in other EU states with particular reference to: (a) the amount of subsidy, (b) the percentages of total revenue made...
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: I support Deputy McManus's amendment. As regards the issue of secondary rights for an independent production company that, for example, has made a programme which has been broadcast on RTE and on which it has done a deal, there was a concern that all the cards are in the hands of the broadcaster, not the production company. In reality, many of these productions will not fly unless there is...
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: I thank the Minister for tabling amendments Nos. 95 and 98. These arise as a result of an issue raised with me, which I raised with him on Committee Stage and they concern assisting in the completion of independent television or sound broadcasting programmes. That is welcome and my concern has now been dealt with. I will focus on amendment No. 97. There has been ongoing discussion through...
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: We are allowed to laugh in here every now and again.
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: We will not get a chance to debate this properly. There is no issue with some of the drafting amendments. What is the procedure relating to the introduction of new amendments half way through Report Stage? I was not aware this was possible. Perhaps the Minister is entitled to do so but the Opposition spokespersons are not. Will the Ceann Comhairle advise us when the debate resumes later?
- Unemployment Levels: Motion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: I wish to share time with Deputy English. I am surprised but glad to have an opportunity to speak on this motion and thank the Labour Party for bringing it forward. Anybody who knocked on doors in the recent local, European and by-election campaigns will know there is one issue above all else that families and people in general across the country are concerned about, which is employment....
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: Without bursting into laughter.
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: Can I propose that we take amendments Nos. 93a, 101a, 148a and 148b together, as they are all technical in nature? I have no issue with them, but amendment No.113 is a substantive amendment on DTT and I would like to explore that.
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: That is fine then.
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 97: In page 118, to delete lines 6 to 22 and substitute the following: "(8) In Part 1 of the table to this section, "appropriate amount" means at least twenty-five per cent of the amount of commercial revenues and licence fee revenues attributed by RTÃ to the television Integrated Business Division (IBD) in the notes forming part of the group financial statements for the...
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: I want to support the points made by Deputy McManus on the diaspora. RTE is in a unique position, being both a commercial and public service broadcaster. However, another unique part of RTE is its responsibility to the enormous number of Irish people who live outside this island. About 70 million people worldwide consider themselves Irish. A policy decision was rightly made by the...
- Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (17 Jun 2009)
Simon Coveney: That is welcome.