Mr. Peter Feeney:

RTÉ is licensed by the BAI and it is answerable to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. No broadcaster has ever been part of the Press Ombudsman's operation because broadcasters have a separate regulator in the BAI. I would hope - this is only a personal view - that with the creation of the new media authority of Ireland, a structure will be put in place which will mean the broadcast industry is held just as accountable as the print media in Ireland.

The record of the BAI in regulating the broadcast media is a matter for the BAI in essence. In terms of impact on public opinion, there is no question that broadcasting has a significant role to play. It is important that objectivity, fairness, etc., are paramount in their news and current affairs output and so on. Anything that can be done to increase that and to increase public confidence in that is important.

The members will be aware that these polls of public opinion about what professions are most highly regarded show that both journalists and politicians are sliding down the scale and we are less highly regarded as the years go on. Even with the doctor, the dentist and the parish priest at the top of the scale, there is a loss of public confidence in people in positions of authority in general anyway.

We must do anything we can to arrest that process and re-establish public confidence in fairness. Ombudsmen in general do that and play an important role in doing so because they can hold people to account where something untoward has occurred and correct injustices, etc.