Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

There are inefficiencies or costs involved but it is successfully bringing in €200 million per year to help fund public service broadcasting. The public service broadcaster itself, when asked in committee whether it would great rid of it, ultimately said that, while it would be critical of some of the costs involved, it would not get rid of it. The fee provides a real and important connection so that the public service broadcaster recognises it is being paid directly by those households which pay the licence fees. They have a call on the public service broadcaster to perform and deliver a range of services because of that payment by those who effectively own and control the channels. While the system will no doubt evolve and the technological developments that occur will lead to change, they are not yet at a stage where it is clear to us how we can make an effective change, given the evolving nature of the situation. Let us watch this space. We will have to change, but not at this time.