Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

We could debate this matter all night. RTE's decision to end its medium wave service is not really relevant to the Bill in many respects. However, the station indicated that the service was inefficient to operate and that very few people listened to it. Apparently 90% of people listen to its FM service and the remaining 10% listen on other frequencies. The FM service is able to provide much better audio quality than that which was provided on its medium wave counterpart. RTE will now be in a position to use the moneys saved by discontinuing its medium wave service to improve FM reception further and to help fund its new digital radio network, which will be available over the digital audio broadcasting, DAB, system.

We will make further inquiries in respect of this matter in the interests of obtaining greater clarity in respect of it. A number of Members made statements on this issue which, if true, would give one cause to be concerned.

There is no such thing as perfect legislation. At a concert at the weekend, Leonard Cohen performed a song which contains the lovely line, "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in". The Bill is not perfect. I will consult with my colleague and the officials from the Department to see if we can improve on what is already contained in it. I am not refusing to accept amendments for the sake of doing so. If we were of the view that certain amendments would improve the legislation, we would be more than happy to accept them. I will reconsider the position and return to the matter on Report Stage.