Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The question is focused on the purchase of a number of radio stations by News Corp, Rupert Murdoch's company. It purchased Wireless Group, which owns radio stations FM104, Q102, LMFM, Cork's 96 FM, C103, Live 95FM and U105.8FM Belfast. These stations have a 14% share of listenership. This adds to News Corp's media ownership and a lack of diversity and plurality because the same company also owns The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sunand the online company Storyful, apart altogether from BSkyB and Fox. I notice a report by Roderick Fleming from DCU, as part of a recent report by the European University Institute, put Ireland in the high risk category, at 74%, with regard to the concentration of media ownership, and at medium risk of 50% with regard to concentration of cross-media ownership. Will the Minister comment on this?

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