Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media
Future of Print Media and Journalism: Free Media Ireland
Mr. Jarlath Feeney:
We would certainly see that as a doable scheme. The other potential support, which was mentioned earlier, would be akin to the employment wage subsidy scheme EWSS, whereby part of a wage is supported, but it would be ring-fenced around journalism only. That would have to be designated on the payroll as a journalism-related cost for that journalist or journalists. That could be another mechanism. I am aware that when this scheme was set up, it worked very quickly and very effectively. It could go some way to channelling support for the journalist. That is one mechanism. The voucher scheme is another. If it was expanded to allow the business receiving it to spend it in different ways, be it in radio, print media or online, and if the start-up business had the flexibility to do that, that would be a huge boost for those businesses and it would also boost us in return.
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