Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission approved the acquisition of the Celtic Media group by Independent News and Media, INM. It is now up to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, and presumably the Cabinet, to accept or reject this acquisition. Earlier this year, a report authored by Dr. Roddy Flynn of Dublin City University identified the concentration of media ownership in Ireland as a "high risk". That was echoed earlier this year in a European Commission report, which found that the position in Ireland was the subject of the highest level of concern and identified a lack of legal barriers as an issue. Nessa Childers MEP held a conference earlier this year at which Dr. Flynn's findings were reported. More recently, Lynn Boylan, MEP, commissioned an EU Parliament report, the findings of which expressed similarly grave concerns regarding the media landscape in Ireland.

It is difficult to understand how an agency involved in consumer protection could approve the proposed acquisition, particularly in a sector that has the potential to undermine our democracy. INM publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent, the Evening Herald, the Sunday Worldand the Belfast Telegraph. It has a 50% stake in the Irish Daily Starand controls 13 paid-for regional weekly newspapers. If INM's acquisition of the Celtic Media group goes ahead, it will control 28 regional titles across the country in addition to the national titles I have mentioned. The radio sector is also relevant in this context. Communicorp, which is owned by the same majority shareholder as INM, controls Newstalk, Today FM, 98FM, Spin 103 and Spin South West, or approximately 20% of the entire radio market. Although I appreciate that print and broadcast media are different, it is essential for the cross-ownership of INM and Communicorp to be considered in tandem.

As the Taoiseach knows, the Competition Act 2002 does not allow competition restrictions on media ownership to be retrospective. This raises further questions about the permitting of the proposed acquisition. If there is already a problem with the over-concentration of media ownership, why would the Government make that situation worse? That is the obvious question. While media concentration is an issue in its own right, the ownership of such a large proportion of our print broadcasting and digital media by someone who has consistently used the courts to create a chilling effect on journalists and other media outlets has to be questioned in the most serious terms. The person to whom I refer, Denis O'Brien, was the subject of adverse findings in the Moriarty tribunal, as the Taoiseach is aware. This media acquisition is clearly against the public interest. It is essential that vested interests are not once again placed ahead of the public interest. Will the Taoiseach oppose this acquisition? Given the changing nature of media, does he support the National Union of Journalists' call to initiate a public commission on the future of the media to examine ownership, editorial control, employment standards including pension rights and measures to protect editorial independence? Does he believe State supports may be appropriate to ensure there is diversity of media ownership across all platforms?

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