Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I do not doubt Senator Finucane's sincerity. I do not speak for RTE but I am not at all surprised to hear him and the Minister refer to RTE's reluctance in this regard. RTE was in a serious financial crisis when this Bill was in gestation and when consultations were taking place in the public domain – we all followed them. RTE was up in arms when the Minister suggested he intended to divert €8 million of his Department's budget under this Bill. Any organisation would be up in arms about it and I do not think there is any great conspiracy or secret about it. I do not see the political point of suggesting RTE was somewhat reluctant to accept it. If I was in charge of RTE, I would be reluctant to accept it. If I was working in RTE and relying exclusively on my income from that organisation I, too, would be concerned about the intention of the Minister, my political boss, to divert money from the place in which I worked. People working in RTE have families too. That is one side of the argument.