Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

With the economy in good health again there seems to be many in the Government and in the cosseted semi-State sector who seem to think public money ought to be thrown around once more like confetti on various pet projects instead of being spent on various projects with people in urgent need or even returned to hard-working taxpayers who earned the money in the first place. Relevant here is the question of funding of public broadcasting, particularly RTÉ. As we know, earlier this week the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, called for RTÉ to get a €30 million increase in annual funding "at a minimum", citing significant challenges in a rapidly evolving media industry. That was the reason given for the taxpayer to prop up this money drain. The BAI even stated there may be a case for increased funding in excess of €30 million and, unsurprisingly, the chairman, Dr. Pauric Travers, requested that the Minister and the Government urgently address the financing required for public service broadcasting.

This is at a time when the Government is struggling to keep the national homelessness figure below five figures and we have a national debt equivalent to 68% of our country's GDP. RTÉ received €186 million through the licence fee in 2017, and that is taxpayers' money going to an organisation that recorded a deficit in six of the past nine years and only avoided one in 2017 because of cash generated from selling land.