Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The reason I raise this matter is that the proposed merger is not only the concern of the committee of which I and other Deputies are members. I note the committee is weighted heavily with Fine Gael Senators and Deputies but that is just the way it is. The Taoiseach should also be concerned because this is a national concern. The joint committee is up against a ticking clock because the relevant legislation provides that submissions must be made by a certain date. In this case, I understand the deadline is either 12 or 14 February. The proposed merger is a matter of national concern on many levels, in particular in respect of the plurality of media.

The question of how Independent News and Media is dealt with by the State is also extraordinarily interesting. I referred to the difficulty some people have with paying their taxes in this country. At the same time, €100 million of INM's debt was written off by Allied Irish Banks. We then had the extraordinary ill treatment of workers' pensions by Denis O'Brien and Independent News and Media. This issue needs public scrutiny as otherwise we will hurtle towards a dictatorship in the media. The Taoiseach should not pretend this will be an even-handed discrepancy or that the media depends on good journalism. That is not the case because editorial control is everything. This is an issue of national interest and the Taoiseach should be concerned about it.

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