I would like to begin by referring to something Jonathan Swift wrote in 1710, and the sentiment of which is even more relevant today in the context of false media and false news: "Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect." I mention this in the context of the need for a vibrant and independent media. All of the elements of public service broadcasting, as an ethos, are important parts of this equation that are sometimes taken for granted, particularly by the Government. We read late last night that RTÉ plans to save €60 million over the next three years by imposing a range of cuts, including 200 staff redundancies. That is not good enough, and it would not be good enough for anybody in any organisation, that those redundancies were notified to staff through media leaks late last night. RTÉ is under substantial financial pressure as a result of reduced advertising income, changes in viewership patterns, online trends and global changes. There has been a substantial lack of engagement from the Government about RTÉ's funding model and about licence fee evasion. Rather than dealing with the challenges faced by RTÉ, the Government is constantly trying to kick the can down the road.

Ireland's licence fee evasion rate of 14% is the highest in Europe. It results in a loss of approximately €25 million a year. Another 11% of households do not pay the licence at all, which accounts for a further €20 million. The Tánaiste is familiar with this information. It is not new to the Government. The members of the Government and its predecessor have stuck their heads in the sand. They have discussed the proposed broadcasting charge lengthways and sideways without making a decision, in the full knowledge of the challenges being faced by our entire media industry. They have said they will make a decision in five years' time. The Government has been procrastinating on changing this country's defamation laws, which are regularly described by outside independent experts as having a chilling effect on the way Irish print and broadcasting media do their work. As a result of the Government's inertia, inaction and head-in-the-sand approach, RTÉ has announced that there will be 200 redundancies, its presence in Limerick will be downgraded, some of its assets will be sold, the pay of all staff will be frozen indefinitely and the pay of top earners will be reduced by 15%. I have read in the past few minutes that the Government is focusing on cutting the pay of top presenters while ignoring the 200 redundancies and the indefinite pay freezes that are to be imposed on those on the lowest incomes.

The cuts in RTÉ are in addition to those in other media organisations. Virgin Media announced 60 cuts last week. All of our newspaper groups are announcing regular job cuts. The independent broadcasting sector is operating on a shoestring because of the lack of a coherent and cohesive Government policy that would defend the media as it faces the challenges I have mentioned and would defend public service broadcasting in general. We must defend an independent media that asks hard questions and provides information. We want such a media, but we will not pay for it. When was the Government informed about RTÉ's plans? Has the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, met RTÉ management and board members? Is the Tánaiste interested in preserving and promoting an independent media, with public service broadcasting as a key part of it, or will he continue to keep his head in the sand while the media industry dies?

It is appropriate that I begin by mentioning that one of my brothers works in RTÉ and has been involved in the restructuring plans that have been publicised today. It is important for me to say that for the record.

In my view, public service broadcasting is more important than it has ever been. Independent objective reporting of domestic and international affairs is absolutely crucial for any functioning democracy. We must recognise that the landscape in which broadcasters operate is undergoing a transformation, which is giving rise to new challenges for the Government and for RTÉ in terms of the need for reform. Audiences are transitioning away from traditional platforms and are increasingly accessing content online through digital media. Additional funding has been provided to RTÉ. Additional funding of €10 million was allocated to the broadcaster between 2018 and 2019.

In August, the Government accepted the recommendations of the working group on the future funding of public service broadcasting regarding the reform of the TV licence fee collection system. As a result, TV licence fee collection will be put out to tender when the enabling legislation - the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2019, which recently passed Second Stage - is enacted. This will allow a five-year contract for the service to be put in place, thereby giving the successful bidder an opportunity and an incentive to invest in a collection system that reduces evasion levels, which are far too high. According to the official figure I have seen, the current evasion rate is 12.83%. This does not compare well with other countries. The Government has agreed that at the end of the five-year contract period, the licence fee should be replaced by a device-independent broadcasting charge, which will take account of technological change and will enable the sustainable funding of public service content in the longer term. That is welcome. It is not appropriate to continue to pay for public service broadcasting into the medium term by imposing a charge or a licence fee in respect of television ownership. We know that at least 10% of homes do not have televisions. People in those homes watch content online on tablets, iPads and computer screens.

We are adapting from a public policy perspective and from a funding approach perspective. It is important to say that even though RTÉ's commercial income decreased significantly during the recession - by €100 million, from €250 million to €150 million - it was in a position to break even in 2013 and 2014. Its commercial revenue has been largely stable since then. It remained at approximately €150 million between 2013 and 2018. Licence fee revenues increased from €179 million to €189 million over the same period. RTÉ's operating costs increased by approximately 11% during that period. We will play our part from a policy point of view. We expect RTÉ to evolve and to make the decisions that are necessary to respond to dramatic changes in consumer approaches to media.

Nothing the Tánaiste said is new. At a time when this country's entire media industry, including RTÉ, is on life support, his prescription is tea and sympathy. He needs to wake up. He has spoken about new challenges, but we have known about these challenges for five years. The Government intends to kick the can down the road for another five years. Will we have a media industry in five years' time?

I would like the Tánaiste to answer a few questions. When was the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment informed about RTÉ's plans? Has he meet representatives of RTÉ? No reference has been made to Raidió na Gaeltachta or TG4 in any of the plans. What is the future of Raidió na Gaeltachta and TG4 in the context of these plans? Tá sé an-tábhachtach go mbeidh seirbhísí raidió agus teilifíse againn trí mheán na Gaeilge. The Tánaiste has spoken about licence fee evasion rates, but changing tendering is not going to magically change evasion rates. What are the Government's specific proposals in this regard? The reform of the defamation laws is crucial for independent print journalism in particular.

The attitude is to again kick the can down the road and carry out a review. Meanwhile, newspapers are closing and journalists are losing their jobs. Good media outlets are dying on the vine while the Government whistles past the graveyard. Let this be a wake-up call. Redundancies have been made by Virgin Media and Times Ireland. Now RTÉ, for the third time in as many years, has announced redundancies. When will the Government wake up?

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, only received the final report from RTÉ this morning.

He saw it in The Irish Times.

My understanding is that RTÉ was not expecting to have to deal with this issue today. Dee Forbes spoke on today's edition of "Morning Ireland" and explained the frustration within RTÉ at the news being leaked and the subject of a report on the front page of The Irish Times such that more than 1,800 RTÉ employees read in the newspaper of decisions about which they should have been first informed within RTÉ. There is significant frustration within RTÉ at the leak, but that is how modern media works - it is instantaneous. When information is leaked, it is made public very quickly. RTÉ and other media outlets have taken that approach, so we should not get into the blame game in that respect.

That said, the Government must now respond to a detailed plan from RTÉ. We will assess it and work with the organisation. The Minister recently met representatives of RTÉ and will do so again. We had an idea of the approach to be put forward in the plan. The answer to the Deputy's question is that the Minister only received a complete plan this morning from RTÉ and needs time to assess it fully.