Sir, - Bob Collins, director-general of RTE states (May 18th) that RTE wishes to use the extra licence revenue for new programmes, cultural obligations and events of Irish interest. He goes on to state that public funding will be "transparently accounted for". Perhaps he could contribute to this transparency and reveal how much of the current licence fee, which is essentially an extra tax, is being used to pay for the salaries of RTE's many "stars"? - Yours, etc.,
Philip Hassell, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.