Mr. Frank Mulrennan:

I recently heard a beautifully crafted documentary on Achill Island, in the Deputy's part of the country. It was funded by the sound and vision programme. I listened to it intently when it was broadcast on RTÉ radio. It struck me that although it is great to have such documentaries funded by the taxpayer, there is the potential within the newspapers in the Celtic Media Group, as well as within the newspapers of other local, regional and national publishers, to do the same. We are trying to do the same. We are investing in our videographic resources. We are reaching for funding to upskill and provide that level of content for our online audience but it is an unequal battle. Yes, we are grateful for the VAT change, but it is doing no more than neutralising the hurt we are taking each year in terms of the reduction in our circulation revenue.

In terms of what Deputy Dillon has asked us to think about, what is crucial is that we are looking for a rebuilding of our business model. The people who do the job I do are very skilled at cutting costs. It becomes a one-way trick. To have a sustainable model of journalism, we need a combination of State resources coming through the Future of Media Commission and the necessary level of investment in skills, alongside the fact that the tech giants must be made to pay. In fairness, Google has done something. Facebook, however, has done zero. It is not one item on the menu; there are a number of items. Without that, it will be a classic case of people shouting "Stop" when it is too late.