Ms Maeve Donovan:

I wish to give the Deputy some information which might help to clarify how this particular aspect would work. First, as Geraldine has said, she would have had reservations and would have liked to have more money to spend on other things at the time. However, her opposition was not to what was accepted as the problem, namely the migration from print to digital. I will give the Deputy an earlier example that might illustrate this for him. The job of the editor and the entire journalistic team is very much focused on the issues of today and the immediate future. It is very different for the business. If we go back to the end of the 1980s when The Irish Timesintroduced colour printing, we had a very eminent editor, Mr. Douglas Gageby.At that time, despite the investment, Mr. Gageby said that there would not be colour on the front page of the newspaper until Ian Paisley cut the tape on the Border. I can tell the Deputy that within months there was colour from one end to the other of the editorial pages. It took time for him to be sold on the idea. That is the issue with strategic decisions. The business must look at strategic issues over a very long period of time.