Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Feeney is very welcome. I thank him for his attendance. I felt for him a moment ago as he was entering into the snake pit of talking about Independents. You could insult one Independent and have a complaint made against you, perhaps to the Press Ombudsman himself. In all seriousness, I thank Mr. Feeney for his attendance and for the opportunity for the committee to examine the annual reports from 2018 through to 2020.

My colleague, Deputy Higgins, referred to the coverage over the course of the pandemic, the resilience of the press and the reliance of the public on the press for information. The press has been invaluable, and there are many trusted sources. Mr. Feeney mentioned the difference between online and print. There is definitely a difference between material produced by reputable, trained and trusted journalists and some of the online content created by individuals. Of course, there is no fact-checking of the latter, and that places a significant onus on the press and, indeed, Mr. Feeney and the Press Council.

I note from Mr. Feeney's opening remarks his welcome for the online safety commissioner and the media authority. It is important to have the embrace of Mr. Feeney's office and that of the Press Council in time. It is important that it is first of all recognised that there is an issue and that it is not just a monetary issue facing media organisations. There are also issues of trust and bias involved, and public confidence needs to be restored. I note what Mr. Feeney said about the Future of Media Commission and its awaited report. I will say no more about those aspects but I acknowledge and welcome what Mr. Feeney has said.

Turning to Mr. Feeney's opening statement, I note that his office was established in 2008. As a new Member of the House, certainly a new member of this committee, I welcome the fact that he is before us today. How many complaints, on average, has his office dealt with year on year? I know he will not go into any specifics, but what is the general figure?