Ms Susan McKay:

I thank the Senator Warfield for the question. It is obviously a matter of great concern to me as Press Ombudsman that the funding is very low at the moment. We are operating a service on the basis of two full-time members of staff - myself and the case manager, Bernadette Grogan - and a part-time administrator, a post which is actually currently vacant. We are operating quite a substantial service on a very low budget. We boast that we are independent of the Government and of the press industry. While we can at the moment say that we are independent of both, one cannot be independent if one does not have the funds to run one's service properly. I know it is in the interests of the industry as well in the interests of our office that the office is seen to be funded properly to do its job. For example, I need funds to be able to work in the area of outreach, which the Senator has referred to. If I do not have those funds, can I truly say I am getting the level of complaints I would be getting if more people knew about the Office of the Press Ombudsman? I think not. Without intentionally doing so, the industry could be inhibiting my ability to get the maximum number of complaints. It is very important that we should not be complacent about the relatively low level of complaints we get. It may well be that it is because people are generally satisfied with the performance of the press, or that they are very satisfied with the systems of complaint operated by the newspapers themselves, but it might also just be that not enough people know how to use the Office of the Press Ombudsman. It is a matter of concern and it is one that needs to be given further discussion. I recently made an application to Coimisiún na Meán for a small amount of funding. Again, that is not the Government but it is an area which is moving towards looking for other sources of income.