Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)

Starting at the end, the contribution from Digital Rights Ireland may be the better place to explore those questions. On the question of access, the Senator is right that much of the archive is already available. That has to be acknowledged. While very good work is made of it, I would look to other European countries that have much wider public access and argue that this is what we should be striving for. The archive is an essential part of public service broadcasting. We need to protect and enhance public service broadcasting.

I agree that the multi-annual commitment to RTÉ is welcome and that we should be asking for more for that. We should be ensuring that if the public is paying, there is public service and for me, this fits very much with that. I appreciate that the heads of a new Bill have recently been published. That would be an excellent legislative vehicle to help progress this Bill. I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy Martin, about this and will continue to speak to her about it. I am very glad that her officials are here to share her views as well.