Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for those points. I add my voice in terms of thanking and acknowledging the Minister in the context of the interventions and support. She will be aware that I engaged with her office on the issue of local radio in particular and the really important role it played and plays, particularly during Covid, but also its wider role. I am speaking about this issue of news and current affairs because they are essential public goods. We will, no doubt, later discuss the dangers of misinformation but we also need to speak about the importance of information and news and current affairs discussions. One of the most real and constructive places in which those discussions happen tends to be at local level. I acknowledge that the role of local radio in that regard is important. It is often the case that when an issue is discussed in that concrete and place-based way, there can actually can be a lot of light and progress on it. I am looking to that requirement but in the context of certain providers and certain terms of local radio, it also probably needs to be resourced in an ongoing way because it is part of the public good of broadcasting, as well as democracy and democratic engagement, that local radio stations are able to foster that kind of local news and local connection to policy decisions and local debate. I acknowledge the resources the Minister has directed in that area. There should be a resource support as well as this requirement support. My core point however, is that there should not be endless derogations simply based on a purely commercial rationale.