Mr. Macdara Doyle:

I do not believe that media operates in isolation from wider society. The media tends to reflect generally the prevailing political and social consensus or dominant interests. That said, there are critical issues, as have been raised, around a well-resourced media and its capacity to report properly and investigate key issues. If it has declined over recent years, that may well be down to the fact that the quality of jobs in the media has declined significantly in recent years with a proliferation of freelance and bogus self-employment work. This does not in any way enhance the media's capacity to investigate and report properly. That said, the fundamental route of all of this, and these hearings are something of a model in this regard, is inclusive social dialogue. That is how you help shape a consensus.