Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Taoiseach, like other Deputies, has met colleagues from the media who lost their jobs recently as a result of the massive scaling back of the The Times, Ireland edition. There is a real difficulty for our friends in the media who are caught in that position but there is a wider policy issue as well. There is a real concern now that Irish journalism is being corroded and eroded because the fundamental business model cannot support quality journalism, which is central to our democracy. Two years ago, the Oireachtas committee asked the Government, rather than sitting on its hands, to consider practical ways of bringing money back into this profession, which is something that needs to be done. Nothing has happened, however. I am sure the Minister, Deputy Bruton, will tell me that the Government is looking at this matter again. I think there is an urgency now because there are further stories of other institutions that may be in difficulty. We must intervene to protect certain institutions of our State, including the healthy, sceptical and questioning profession of journalism. That profession is under threat at the moment. What does the Government intend to do about it?

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