Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to get into a discussion of earnings of individual broadcasters, but anybody who listens to the radio a good deal, as I have done for a long time, and who listens to the advertisement slots on RTÉ must be struck by the fact that nearly all of the advertisements are now either self-advertisements or advertisements for semi-State bodies and that the great majority of advertising is being sucked up by other institutions. If one channel hops, on Sky News one will see satellite channels with advertisements directed at the Irish market in significant amounts. It makes one wonder if it is really the case that RTÉ is being properly financially managed if it can devote all its advertising slots to warning about the dangers of not having a television licence, telling of the next programme the station will have, advertising its own merits as a news channel or whatever, or giving subsidised advertising to concerts and the like and stating that it is supporting the arts.The only alternative, in volume, in RTÉ seems to be advertisements for road safety and other such advertisements.

The point I return to is that Lyric FM would not exist were it not for the licence fee. It is for the licence fee and public service broadcasting that we are willing to pay that contribution. We are not there to subsidise alternative stations to the pop music stations. We are paying our licence fee to get something else over and above some form of public broadcasting that we would not otherwise receive. The suggestion that we would sacrifice Lyric FM at this point and keep to 2FM in existence is deeply offensive and an indication of completely wrong priorities in Montrose. I hope the Leader will bring in the relevant Minister to address this issue in the House and to justify any proposal to close down Lyric FM.