Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

The next step is that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland must reduce its budget; the chief executive officer is to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources before the end of this month with his proposed budget. The Minister is working on the issue of sustainable funding and will come back to the joint committee with answers before the end of March.

I spoke to the Minister about this last Monday and I am fully supportive of the thrust of what colleagues are saying in the House. We support local radio to the hilt.