Ms Geraldine Kennedy:

I think it was Dr. Mercille who said that. I will speak for The Irish Timesand not for the broader media because I do not know the details of how other media are run. One could not be a quality, independent newspaper like The Irish Times, with a reputation around the world, without covering the Parliament - and we are the only paper in Ireland which still devotes a page to the Dáil - and without covering the Government, the trade unions and what Dr. Mercille would regard as the elites. That is what a national newspaper does. The important thing is that we also cover suicide, social exclusion, poverty and other issues as well as representing minority interests, as we are mandated to do. I do not know how one could be The Irish Timesand not cover what Dr. Mercille would call the elites, which would include places such as his own university, UCD.