Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

It is a pity Senator Boyle is in government and not sitting on this side of the House because I concur with much of what he said. I am glad we found common ground on that.

With Senator Norris, and with respect to the Minister who has left the Chamber, I believe this debate is a filibuster by a Government that has little to boast about or bring forward to this House. It is unfortunate that we are debating it in that context. Nonetheless, the debate is timely. It comes at a time when we, as a society, are at a crossroads. We are a more pluralist, multi-ethnic society as against the old conservative, Catholic country in which we all grew up. We have a choice regarding our outlook. Do we become liberal or remain conservative? That is the choice we must make. The same applies to our broadcasting but, as many speakers said, balance in broadcasting is what we must strive for in a tolerant, modern country.

An example to be welcomed in that regard is the change in the Irish Film Censor's office, which is now the Irish Film Classification Office. That is a change for the better and is to be welcomed because censorship does not have a role in Irish society. It is important that we have controls and accountability and regulation in terms of the Press Council of Ireland, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission or whatever, but as Senator Boyle said, we live in a multi-media world where people now have the ability to change channels and choose the programmes they want to watch.

The Broadcasting Bill we debated in this House was important legislation that covered many aspects of broadcasting. However, the one area where we are lax and over which we must introduce more control and regulation, although I am not sure how we should do that, is the Internet. The Internet does not appear to be covered in depth in the Bill, although I am open to clarification on that. As we can see with the reports on the American election today on YouTube or other such social networks, the Internet is shaping the way people receive information. I am concerned about the way the Internet has been used to transmit various images, video clips or whatever. Will we be playing catch-up in this area when we should be leading the charge? Web casting, pod casting and YouTube have become part of the lexicon of my generation, and indeed all generations, but we must examine that and determine how we can better control it.

Senator Ó Murchú referred to religious broadcasting. We must have respect for our religious tradition and as a member of the Catholic church, someone who goes to Mass and is a person of faith, it is nice to hear the Angelus at 6 o'clock in the evening. I say that as somebody who is a sinner. I am not a holy Joe, but it is important that we have religious broadcasting. The biggest mistake RTE made in radio was to move the Sunday morning religious programmes from FM to LW 252. I do not understand why we could not have Mass on Sunday morning on RTE Radio 1 on the main 90 FM signal.

I am someone who has respect for the religious traditions of all denominations and it is important that we continue that. Having worked in local radio and on a voluntary basis in Cork University Hospital radio, I am aware that for many people the transmission of Mass and the rosary is a major part of their day. It ill behoves us as politicians to condemn people who have that belief. As Senator Norris said, it is important that we respect each other and are tolerant of others' views.

Tonight we will be able to view the results of the American election on different channels. Some of us will watch MSNBC, CNN or RTE in comparison to Fox News, which claims to be balanced and fair. Editorial content is important but competition drives what is happening on our broadcasting media. That is a concern. Viewers and listeners are important but I have a concern that franchising out some of the television programming leads to what I would call trashy television. I cringe when I see some of the people appearing on "The X Factor", "America's Next Top Model" or whatever. That does not necessarily make good television. It may be funny but it is degrading at times for the people involved. It is important that we have a review of those programmes and discuss them.

I wonder if we have gone overboard in trying to be politically correct. If "Hall's Pictorial Weekly" was broadcast today, the Members opposite would be lampooning Frank Hall and having a field day against him in the way he pilloried Richie Ryan. That satire is missing in television. It is important that we have a good laugh.