Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

It was Vladimir Ilyich that he was quoting. Lenin — it was not John Lennon — once said there is freedom of the press in capitalist society for those who own one. I want to ask the Taoiseach about the high concentration of media ownership in this State. The Media Pluralism Monitor states it puts this State at high risk. Reporters without Borders said last year it was the single largest threat to press freedom in this country. It is not talking in the abstract; it is talking about circumstances like those in which Denis O'Brien and Communicorp control Newstalk and Today FM, or 52% of the Dublin market, and 29.9% of shares in Independent News and Media, which owns the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent, the Evening Heraldand the Sunday World. Rupert Murdoch and News Corp own and control The Sunday Times, The Irish Sun, five radio stations etc. What is the media commission going to do to tackle this problem? I favour the ending of the for-profit element in media ownership. Media should be collectively owned and democratically controlled and reflect the diversity of viewpoints in society. There is a debate as to the best way to tackle this. What timescale has the commission, particularly given that there are vacancies in it?

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