Mr. Frank Mulrennan:

I have asked Mr. O'Hanlon to give Deputy Munster a precis on the good session we had with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin.

The revenue decline has been acute. December has been good because there has been pent-up consumer demand since lockdown eased.

We are facing into a period, from January through to April, during which the vaccine will become more widespread in the community. While I hope it does not happen, there may also be another lockdown, which would immediately shut down much of our advertising. We are dependent on local advertising, whether it is in Enniscorthy, Drogheda or Navan. Some 91% of our advertising revenue comes from local shopkeepers, businesses and architects. The challenge for local newspapers in the short term is the need for funding, parallel with the funding that local radio deservedly got. We have longer term issues with trying to build a digital model against the ridiculous scale of Google and Facebook. That is where the tech tax comes in. I ask Mr. O'Hanlon to respond on our meeting with the Minister.