Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I support the call for a debate on radio licences. We will have to revisit this with a great deal more urgency and vigour than we have already seen. There is a perceived arrogance at the moment, relating to a certain echelon telling the rest of the country what they should listen to and what aspirations they should have.

What worries me is the emergence of new monopolies that are growing by the day. We have seen the example of Scottish Radio Holdings and their pervasive investing in the country. It is only one more aspect of globalisation. What is happening at the moment, in the present debate and in the surveys that we have heard about, is that people are being classified like cattle at a mart. We have to take a stand on this. The airwaves belong to the people of Ireland. This House will have to play a more central role in this debate.