Al-Albert, what did you make of it all?

Uh, you know, I, I, I think you're absolutely right.

There was a lot of public support there today, a lot of hooting of cars and, uh, a lot of beeping.

Um, you know, at the end of the day, as Luke outlined, this is about cost of living.

This is about the government, uh, supporting workers and the need to do, uh, the deal.

And ultimately, you know, as Minister Chambers outlined tonight on both Prime Time, uh, last night and on Six One this evening, uh, you know, the table is set.

We want to engage.

So whether you accept Sinn Féin's alternative budget or not, you can look at the billions in surplus, the billions in surplus, and the workers could validly say, "You're putting money away when we need it now." Now, what's your answer to that?

But that social contract, is that not younger people in particular? Because that's who I think, people in their 20s and 30s, they feel the most that the social contract is broken for them.

Well, well, that's because they have to see what the government is going to deliver in terms of affordable homes, in terms of starter homes.

We have a full suite of supports there for young people now to help them.

We've increased them in the budget.

We have vacant home property refurbishment grants.

And, and look, I'm listening to people, uh, and I hear the concerns when they tell me, you know, that no ma- if they multiply their income by four and they go and try and get a mortgage, it just won't be enough to buy in Dublin, and I, I accept that.

But that's why we have to build more cost rental, more affordable homes.

And I don't know if an increased grant will rectify that problem, really.

were €500 worse off last year, so the difference there is

€250.

Well, no, like last year's budget was very clear.

Last year's budget's main focus was delivery and housing infrastructure and actually building this country.

And you'll see that we've the largest national development plan ever set out over the next 10 years to spend almost quarter of a trillion euros building this country so that we are resilient and we are strong and we have proper public services.

And I just want to say this for a government in the current global context where we have wars in the Middle East, we have wars in Ukraine.

infrastructure being destroyed across the globe Ireland is an outlier we are standing strong we are a safe haven and as a result our economy remains resilient if you look at France they're running a 5% deficit you look at Belgium running a 5% deficit Ireland is still able to run our surplus we will not waste the money that is coming to us from the large corporations and we will still make sure that people out there who are listening right now are feeling supports and some of those supports is for a couple you would see 1500 euros in income tax supports everyone will benefit from the two 125 euros tax credits you see the minimum wage rising to 1494 and you know what that means John that means that for somebody out there who's working you know in a factory 39 hours a week for the first time ever their minimum wage will be over €30,000.

But

It's not some inexplicable mistake during the course of procurement.

Yeah, just on that one, and I think this is important to clarify as well, is I don't think the cost to the state was 100 million euros.

It was 100 million that was going to be the potential combined value of the agreements.

And what happened was, is because of a policy change that was led by Minister Jim O'Callaghan, most of those potentially 15 contracts didn't go ahead.

Five of those providers decided to take legal action.

And in the report, it says that the settlements were reached in three cases for undisclosed amounts and that they were significantly less than the estimated contract values.

But I take the point.

Whatever about a mistake in overpaying it, the failure to recoup it seems to be the thing that's the cause of puzzlement and frustration.

So aren't politicians and the government guilty of handicapping RTE and not being aware as to what the real issues are, rather than talking about transparency and the Comptroller and Auditor General?

General?Yeah, well, what the, what the government did was the government gave RTE the breathing space to go get its house in order and implement significant reforms.

And to date, uh, we haven't seen, uh, some of those reforms come to life.

When you think about the fact that they made a commitment to, uh, undergo 400 redundancies, they've only undergone 100 to date.

So in terms of their cost-cutting exercises, uh, you know, it is concerning that Kevin Backerst, uh, could suggest that 65 million could become the number.

Uh, from a government perspective, you know, I think the minister was right in January when they said that, you know, they couldn't really consider a fu- future, uh, funding model at that point.

You know, the government had previously rejected the idea of a device-led levy in the last government.

Albert, is it not that sort of small stuff which me- means that you miss the much bigger, much more important question about how what essentially is a bankrupt organization, which has been left in that position by political failure to increase the license fee from 2008, how it actually survives for the future, instead of arguing about small individual items?