Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Quite understandable. I liked what Senator Mooney said about public service broadcasting and the bond between a listener and a station.County and regional loyalty is huge in this country, thanks be to God. As Senator Ó Domhnaill said, the services they provide, such as death notices, are vital. Many people do not read the papers anymore but they know the times to tune in for the three times a day that these death notices are played. They never fail to tune into that. That is very important.

I welcome the Minister. He had called for a debate and I am glad that this discussion is now taking place on the definition of public service broadcasting and the 2% levy payable by the independent stations. I believe it is time to have a serious and meaningful conversation, as is happening, about the definition of public service broadcasting. The fact that local radio stations, which undoubtedly play a role in public service broadcasting, must pay a 2% levy on all of their turnover, as Senator Mulcahy has said, while RTE benefits from the national licence fee is unfair. We recently met with the local radio stations and all 34 of them were of one view about that. I accept that the Minister is looking at this matter but public service broadcasting is, in my opinion, provided not only by the national broadcaster, RTE, but also by these independent stations. These stations broadcast news and news programmes that are of interest to the public and fall within the remit of public service broadcasting and I have referred to the JNLR figures which support them hugely in what they are doing. While I appreciate the high quality of programming that RTE produces, I believe that its monopoly-like treatment does a major disservice to local stations and this has been said by my opposite number, Senator Ó Domhnaill. We must level the playing pitch and address this issue without delay and I appreciate that the Minister is looking at the entirety of the matter. The Minister called for debate on this issue and I am delighted that it is now happening. It is ridiculous that the local radio stations provide such a high quality service and receive nothing in return. They feel very aggrieved, as I think the Minister is aware.

A redefinition of what public service broadcasting means is needed. I am glad this discussion is taking place and I very much welcome it and the Minister's realism and the fact that he has stated that he intends to bring forward a number of proposals to amend the current regulatory framework for commercial radio advertising. That is very much to be welcomed. The Minister proposes to give the BAI more oversight and control of the number of advertising minutes allowed to such broadcasters and he is prepared to bring forward amendments to ensure that the BAI's reviews of public service broadcasting funding will always take account of the impact of its recommendations on the broader advertising market. I welcome that. I think the Minister is very well qualified in the role that he is in and I think he will be fair and objective.