Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In light of the revelation at this morning's Oireachtas committee meeting that RTÉ, the State broadcaster, has paid out €10.4 million in defamation costs since 2010, I call for a debate on broadcasting. It should be a wide-ranging debate that covers not just this particular aspect but also the matter of the 500 or so workers at RTÉ who are deemed to be either temporary or on contract. That is an issue about which we should all be concerned. In addition, we should look at the licence fee and the role the national broadcaster and public service broadcasting can play in the future. It is important we have a debate on the future of broadcasting and media in this House. We have seen a modal shift in how people consume news and engage with newspapers. During the Covid period in particular, we saw the value of good-quality, local newspapers and media in giving information and keeping people in touch. It would be opportune for the House to have a debate on the role of RTÉ that would include a wider discussion on the role of the media. I thank Members for their participation in the debate on transport. It was a very positive debate despite the lack of agreement with regard to the amendment from Senator Boyhan on the role of, and need for, a policing force on our public transport services. There is need for a wider debate around the role a new type of policing authority can play in policing antisocial behaviour on public transport. Senators will have heard what Dermot O'Leary of the NBRU had to say on the news last Friday. We are all aware of the rise in antisocial behaviour. As I said during the debate last night, we have a duty of care to the workers and to those travelling on our public transport. I am not sure if the Seanad Public Consultation Committee is still functioning, but this may be a piece of work that could be done by that committee. I would be happy to sit down with Members to put together a piece of work on that. I would ask, respectfully, that we have those debates.