Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Speaking recently at the Near social justice media conference, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, said that new legislation governing media ownership is a concern that the Government must be prepared to engage with. He committed to new rules on media mergers, but he did not say when they would be published. He said that in the context of a remark that without State intervention in the media, what would emerge would be a small number of enormous commercial media conglomerates that are operated solely for profit by the privileged and the powerful. This is from the Minister for communications, Deputy Pat Rabbitte.

I am conscious that the programme for Government committed to legislation in this regard. Last May, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, seemed to indicate that there would not be a separate media mergers Bill but that he would proceed with one Bill, the consumer and competition Bill.

Regarding the comments of the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, he said this was an issue of concern to the very fundamentals of democracy and media diversity. He is on the record as saying to the House that diversity of content and ownership is more important in the media than in other enterprises as it has an impact on the quality of our democracy. He said he is confident that the Bill will have regard to these principles. With regard to the Bill he was talking about, can the Taoiseach give a timescale for the introduction of the consumer competition Bill? Also, can he confirm or clarify for the House whether there will be separate media mergers legislation, as per the Minister's comments at the weekend, or whether the new rules pertaining to media mergers will be contained in one Bill? This has been ongoing for a year and a half, and there is a lack of clarity on it. There appears to be a Fine Gael position on this which is not in support of new rules about media mergers, and it is a different position from that of the Labour Party. I want to know the Government position on the promised legislation.

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