Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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10. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he has read a recently published report (details supplied) on the concentration of media ownership here; his views on the monopolisation of the media market here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32281/16]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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Has the Minister read the report launched this week on media ownership in the State? It was commissioned by Ms Lynn Boylan, MEP, and highlights a number of serious concerns about the development and domination of the media by one very wealthy individual, in particular. Does the Minister share our concerns and those of journalists and the wider public about the issues raised in this and previous reports?

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I understand the report referred to was published last Monday. I was not furnished with a copy in advance of its publication, which means that I am not in a position to respond comprehensively to its findings.

As the Deputy is aware, the current media mergers regime was introduced by the 2014 revision of the Competition Act 2002 and is operated by my Department. This was in recognition of the fact that having free and pluralistic media was an essential component of a modern representative democracy. An important part of the current regime is the requirement on the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, to prepare, every three years, a report on the ownership and control arrangements of media businesses in Ireland and to describe any change that may have taken place in the period since any previous report. In June this year I published the first such report from the BAI entitled, Report on Ownership and Control of Media Businesses in Ireland 2012-2014.  In the report which is available on my Department's website the BAI concludes that there has not been a material reduction in media plurality in the State due to the limited changes in ownership and control in the period 2012 to 2014.

To answer the Deputy's specific question, I have not read the report. It was presented by Ms Lynn Boylan, MEP, at the European Parliament at the beginning of October. It would have been helpful to include a copy when the parliamentary question was submitted. In fact, my Department was not presented with a copy and had to download it from a news website during the week. We received it within the past 48 hours and are going through it. I understand it refers to the domination of two media outlets, one controlled by an individual and the other being RTE.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I received my copy of the report yesterday morning. It was launched on Monday. It raises serious concerns about media concentration and notes that Ireland has one of the most concentrated media markets in any democracy. It points out that media plurality is an essential component of a well functioning democratic society. As the Minister knows, the media landscape is on the verge of losing more diversity owing to the possible purchase of Celtic Media Group by International News & Media which is controlled or owned by Mr. Denis O'Brien. Journalists are very concerned. For a number of years the NUJ has sought the establishment of a commission to investigate these aspects of the media and map the way forward. In his supplementary reply the Minister will probably refer to the constitutional questions. I wish to deal with that aspect.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I compliment the Deputy. He submitted the question last Wednesday and only received the report yesterday. Fair dues to him. He received the report yesterday and I am supposed to respond to it today. That is the difficulty and it is disappointing. I have tried to be as open as I can with Members of the House, with whom I have engaged, including the Deputy, on various issues and for whom I have tried to provide as much information as I can within the legal confines I face as Minister. The task would have been made easier if we had been given a copy of the report in advance.

On the issue of constitutionality, as raised by the Deputy, it is correct to say an issue arises. It was debated in the House in 2014 when we considered the Competition and Consumer Protection Bill. One cannot deal with the issue of retrospective legislation without great difficulty. On top of this, there is the issue of property rights. I realise the two legal firms involved, one based in the United Kingdom and the other in Northern Ireland, have dismissed this issue, but it is complex. There is a myriad of legal complexities involved. One cannot just dismiss the Constitution.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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The report has been available for the past couple of weeks. I had hoped the Minister had a copy, but I recognise he has not had access to it. We will correct this.

With regard to retrospective legislation and the Constitution, Article 43 is the article to which the Minister alludes. It states exercising the right to private ownership ought to be regulated by the principles of social justice. Article 43.2.2° states: "The State, accordingly, may as occasion requires delimit by law the exercise of the said rights with a view to reconciling their exercise with the exigencies of the common good". The provision is qualified by the recognition of the common good. The Constitution is very clear. If it is not, we can change it. Has the Minister sought the opinion of the Attorney General on this issue? The former Deputy and Attorney General Senator Michael McDowell has expressed a view that is different from that of the Minister. If the Minister did obtain an opinion from the Attorney General, what was it? If Article 43 of the Constitution is a problem, it should be noted that we have had referendums on issues that some people might not count as being too important. Having proper, functioning and open media is key in a democracy. There is nothing stopping us from holding a referendum on this issue. The Constitution was used as an excuse by the previous Government in the case of upward-only rent reviews. The Minister should not use it as an excuse in this case.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I am in no way using it as an excuse. When the issue was debated in the House in 2014, there was no significant Sinn Féin intervention on the issues highlighted in the report produced by Ms Lynn Boylan, MEP. Deputy Peadar Tóibín did make reference on Second Stage to the need for diversity and plurality, but there was no amendment tabled in that regard.

Reference was made on Committee Stage to cross-ownership of the media, particularly to the setting of hard thresholds on cross-ownership. At the time, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, responded that the advisory group on media mergers, whose recommendations preceded the Bill, believed that specifying metrics in legislation would be fraught with risk. A large number of issues regarding the passage of this legislation were debated not so long ago. The legislation is now in place. There is a mechanism through the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to review on an ongoing basis the mergers that take place and report back. I published the first such report in June of this year. The next review will take place in 2018, and I will publish that when it is made available as well.