Mr. S?amus Dooley:

I thank Senator Warfield. Part 3A of the Competition Act 2002 contains a checklist for an application for a media merger. Within this checklist are basic tests that have to be applied. These include editorial independence, commitments to resourcing to ensure diversity and compliance with codes of practice, including industrial relations practices. There is already a template. I absolutely agree with the local democracy fund and all of the good State funding on the basis of public interest. If media organisations want this money they should conform to the codes of practice of the State that is giving the money. This includes going to the Workplace Relations Commission and allowing workers to be accompanied at a meeting. Recently I had to write to someone in a company because it had not paid a freelancer for two years. Its response was to cancel the column with immediate effect. This company should not get a penny from the State. It will apply and it will probably end up getting money. We need joined-up thinking on this. If organisations want to argue for libel reform and public interest journalism there is a contract. One of our concerns is that there has been a loss of employment and enforced redundancies. There has also been a loss of work to freelancers. We do not want the very companies that enforce compulsory redundancies then filling the slots with State funding. This would be wrong and counter-productive.

On a positive note, that being positive from my point of view, the NUJ has suggested a voucher system. Senator Malcolm Byrne asked for new ideas. In our recovery plan we spoke about the notion of tax credits for households that took online subscriptions, free vouchers for online or print subscriptions to those aged 18 and 19 years and a voucher system for those who qualify for the free TV licence. This would go some way towards addressing the democratic deficit being spoken about with regard to encouraging younger people to access online media and making sure older people are not disadvantaged. It is not a perfect system but it is a legitimate concern that has been raised. I know why paywalls exist but the notion of exclusion is one that we cannot ignore.