Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I would also like to commend the Minister and his officials for the work they have done on this legislation. I look forward to the time when the fund will be up and running, so that I can see it in practice. I would like to pick up on the comments made by Senator Henry. I would support the establishment of a television channel to continually broadcast the proceedings of the Oireachtas in order that people could see this type of debate. Most of the work done in the Oireachtas relates to the day-to-day formation of legislation, involving genuine debate on amendments, which may be accepted by the Minister. It would probably not be appropriate to establish such a channel under this fund. I assumed at one stage that RTE would take this idea on board and I hope we will see it in the future. I look forward to the debate next year on the broadcasting authority Bill, which will be a significant addition to the legislative framework. I would like to discuss an issue that I appreciate may be slightly out of order, but I am sure the Acting Chairman will allow me to do so because he is out of order from time to time.