Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and thank him for taking the time for this debate. He has a report that was delivered by the board, which is chaired by Ms Moya Doherty, and Ms Dee Forbes as RTÉ's director general about a restructuring model for RTÉ. Everyone accepts the need for a restructuring of RTÉ overall. Nevertheless, I seek clarification from the Minister regarding two aspects in the context of the mid-west and Limerick specifically. The first relates to RTÉ's regional broadcasting and general news remit in the mid-west. My understanding is that RTÉ will retain that, but we want to be certain that it will retain the ability to broadcast live from a studio there. The Minister is probably aware that Lyric FM and RTÉ's regional newsroom are based on the same floor in the same building on Cornmarket Square in the heart of Limerick city.They have been there since 1999. The studio is the best state-of-the-art facility outside of Donnybrook. It is in the heart of Limerick city and houses the RTÉ regional studio and Lyric FM. Lyric FM has the lowest cost per hour of any RTÉ station. I would make the counterbalancing case that there is a strong argument for the decentralisation of other arms of RTÉ, such as 2FM, to the Lyric FM studio in Limerick. A large amount of capacity is available and the livelihoods of 23 people are at stake. Lyric FM is a major cultural element of what we offer in the mid west. When the Minister is reviewing this proposal, I request that he ask RTÉ to give careful consideration to the model operating in Limerick. If some reorganisation is required, including a reduction of costs in Limerick, so be it. Staff are aware that there could be a slightly smaller studio. Lyric FM is key to the Limerick operation, however, and it is one of the successes of decentralisation. The worry is that RTÉ is going for the low-hanging fruit when wider restructuring could take place.