Mary Henry (Independent)

I congratulate the Minister on this Bill. I hope that community radio stations, in particular, will be looked on favourably in this fund. I received a copy of the Bill in the week when the Oireachtas was said to be on holidays. I was sick in bed at the time, so I had the benefit of reading the Bill and listening to radio programmes at the same time. Some people on the radio were complaining at great length about politicians. I started to wonder if we should not keep some of the funds provided for in this Bill for ourselves, so that we could run our own radio station. It was the only system I could think of that would give us a right to reply. We have not decided to give funds to politicians in this Bill, but I suppose there is nothing to prevent us from starting our own station and looking to the BCI for funds.