Mr. Tadhg Carey:

Senator O'Reilly asked about the coverage of courts, local authorities and the staple of local newspapers. The Senator is correct that informing people of those key elements of local democracy is a crucial part of the make-up and future of local journalism. Having said that, with the reduced number of journalists available to editors - I am sure every editor will empathise with this - there are always tough choices to be made in the allocation of staff and deciding the events to cover. Courts and local government represent a key element of any respectable local newspaper.

I will give a sense of the challenges that face me in a practical sense in my local area. The Westmeath Independentis based in Athlone. As members will know, Athlone is a split town between Westmeath and Roscommon. Offaly is six miles away with Longford about eight miles away. We also circulate in Ballinasloe in County Galway. That is a fairly diverse territory for coverage of local authorities. The fragmentation of the local government system can be added into the mix. Nowadays we have county councils, municipal districts, strategic policy committees etc. I do not need to tell members about those; they are well aware of those demands on their colleagues on the local authorities. That, obviously, increases the demands on local newspapers.

Our readers consume increasing amounts of content on mobile phones and laptops and they want that content provided instantaneously or at least as quickly as possible. That is another challenge to add into the mix. One of the most successful digital offerings in which my newspaper was involved was the coverage of a controversy over an installation in an art gallery in Athlone. We covered a meeting through Twitter and Facebook and we had a huge audience. We need to do more of that sort of thing. That is why the digital strength that INM can give to us is important to me, as an editor.