Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The first matter concerns an acknowledgement and the second is an issue I wish to raise. I acknowledge what Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell said about CareBright in Bruff. I went to school in Bruff many years ago. I know of the work of that care setting. Dementia is an issue that will be with us and it must be dealt with in a way that is caring in the community. Bruff is a special place. The activities in that care setting are very artistic.

I support the call for a wide-ranging debate on public broadcasting. Such a debate is long overdue and it should be constructive. I would like to see people such as Moya Doherty and Dee Forbes brought before us but that is probably not possible. I was elected, along with others, from the cultural and educational panel. In Limerick, Lyric FM is a particular issue in terms of regional broadcasting. There is a need for a wider discussion. Do we need public broadcasting? Yes, we do. I do not believe we would get the same quality of programmes provided by the public broadcaster in other areas of broadcasting. I ask for expediency to be shown in having such a debate because decisions are being made around RTÉ at a very quick pace. There is a need for a wide-ranging discussion not only about RTÉ but about public broadcasting generally.