Alex White (Labour)

Exactly. It is true that much of the material that was recorded and broadcast and much of the live material from the 1960s does not survive for all sorts of reasons. However, it is important to emphasise the huge progress RTE has made in its archiving of television and radio broadcasting. Huge strides have been made. That should be acknowledged. With the advances in technologies much of the material can be kept on disc; it is easier to hold and there is no excuse for not doing so. I recall being frustrated at a time when some senior and well known broadcasters instead of centrally archiving the material, as they were required to do, kept it themselves. They said the reason they did so was not that they were trying to hoard it at home in the kitchen press but because they did not have full confidence that the central archiving system was working and they wanted to hold on to what they had. However, it is a long time since that was case. The archiving system has moved on. Great strides have been made by RTE.

It is right that the Bill provides that a scheme be drawn up by the corporation to be approved by the Minister. It ought not to be a free for all. The archives are held by RTE. It is its property. As a public body, it holds it in trust for us, but it belongs to RTE. It is right that the Bill provides that a scheme be drawn up. Commercial interests and commercial bodies, as Senator Walsh will appreciate, can avail of that scheme and can be brought into it for a payment, as is appropriate. The Senator's concerns are well placed, but they are dealt with in the Bill.