Mr. Declan McLoughlin:

The purpose of our current consultation around news and current affairs is to start to build that up. The fundamental rules and the news and current affairs code cover, in principle, all the issues the Deputy is talking about from a broadcasting law perspective. If somebody wished to make a complaint, he or she could draw on the codes and rules and say the discussion was not fair, objective or impartial. However, as he rightly set out, there will be particular areas of debate in society with regard to which we will need to ensure broadcasters are better informed. What we hope to do with the current consultation and the next review is to look at how we might address that head on in respect of the issue of climate change. However, it goes back to the point my colleague, Ms Comey, was making in that a multipronged approach is needed. There is a need to find way to support broadcasters via training, education and resources. One of the things we are doing with the broadcasting sustainability network is developing a website that will be finalised in the coming months. People will have access to resources on the website if they are a member of the network. The intent is to draw on best practice resources in guiding that coverage. We are at a fairly early stage.