Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State very much for outlining the funding that has gone into the sound and vision fund, which is very welcome, but personally I do not think it is sufficient. As I said, I feel it needs to be increased, expanded and widened out to those who can apply for it. However, there is an issue for the sound and vision fund in that it is for new content. It is for a new project, so it has to be reviewed every time. If people have been sanctioned to fund a certain project and want to continue that, they are not being supported. They have to go and develop another project. That needs to be changed. Some of the schemes we have mentioned, which are welcome, do not actually address some of the current difficulties with regard to news and current affairs because they deal with additional coverage to what is already taking place. We acknowledge that fantastic coverage is already happening with regard to local authority meetings, etc., in our local radio stations in particular. They are already doing it, so they are not going to be in a position to get additional funding for additional coverage because they do not have the capacity on their stations to give that additional coverage.

We need to redefine the schemes that have been put in place. As I said, we must widen the fund from the media fund that is going to be created. I do not agree with direct Exchequer funding. It needs to be a licence. I honestly believe this. I work in the post office. I meet people every day of the week when I am working there and have done over a long number of years. I think people will be quite happy to pay a charge once they know it is for the wider media sector, including their local newspaper and local radio station and other national broadcasters to which they are listening. People have this perception now that the fund is solely for one media organisation, which has done a fantastic job for the country. The director general appeared before the Oireachtas joint committee last night to speak on the new direction the organisation is taking and to list the cuts that have been lined out to streamline it going into the future. However, we need to support all the organisations, not just RTÉ. That is important.