John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I will be brief because it has been a long discussion so far. I concur with Senator O'Toole's support of Senator Mullen's amendment, particularly concerning the heritage channel, which is a very good idea. I watched most of the debate on Committee Stage and I find myself in complete accord with Senator Mullen's proposal. He proposed that we could perhaps watch Galway winning an All Ireland hurling match, which could be dusted off in the archives. More seriously, there is great merit in the proposal for a heritage channel. Like Senator O'Toole, I hope the Minister can take the idea on board. There is a whole market for such programming. Previous speakers have mentioned that RTE and other broadcasters touch on spots on heritage issues.

The Houses of the Oireachtas channel is a very good idea which I welcome wholeheartedly, together with the film channel. If we are developing niche channels, however, I agree with Senator Mullen that a heritage channel would have a much broader potential audience. Contrary to Senator Mullen, I do not see any particular problem. I never get to see programmes like "The Bill" or "Judge Judy". Perhaps we could have done with Judge Judy earlier to adjudicate on the procedural issue.