John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will refer now to the period of the bailout. It has been commented on in many places that it was mostly the international media that broke the story of assistance being sought by Ireland from the IMF and the European Commission, before the domestic media discovered it. Was there any pressure exerted on RTE at that time as to its reportage and what it should or should not cover? Not covering something could often be as significant as covering it.