Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully endorse everything said about our councillors and the work they put in on our behalf. As a former councillor, I am well aware of the workload involved, but this workload has trebled or quadrupled since the time I was a councillor because of the so-called better government policy that, unfortunately, was implemented by the previous Government. I endorse what was said about pay and conditions and call for the Moorhead report to be published as a matter of urgency.

I fully agree with what Senator Gavan said about Lyric FM. While I appreciate that his main concern is the jobs that may be lost in Limerick, there is a bigger picture here.The Senator might consider amending his proposal to amend the Order of Business that we have a general discussion on public broadcasting. It is important that we have this discussion as a matter of urgency and make our input on the future of public broadcasting and, indeed, the local radio service in this country. Unfortunately, we are in danger of public broadcasting being obliterated. There is a decline in the viewing figures for RTÉ. I believe that some of the presenters are paid far too much for the quality of their presentation and that is something that should be looked at as well. We should look at bringing in new talent and new ideas, shaking the system up, making public broadcasting relevant to today, and take into consideration the threat from social media and other platforms. I would like to see a general discussion on public broadcasting.