Results 1,761-1,780 of 7,975 for speaker:Joe Higgins

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (26 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Have I time for another question?

Water Charges: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: The Government is utterly betraying the aspirations and opposition of ordinary people.

Water Charges: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: The former Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, decided to come into the Dáil tonight, having alerted the media that he was going to make an important statement on Irish Water. In his long career we have seen him hawk himself around the political world from Official Sinn Féin to Sinn Féin The Workers' Party to the Workers' Party to...

Water Charges: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Did I leave anyone out?

Water Charges: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: With each new move, he shed whatever bits of left principles he might once have had, to be replaced with a sneering cynicism which Members saw oozing from him tonight as he decided to divert attention from the hatred of ordinary people in society for the Labour Party because of its continuing imposition of this hated water tax with a cynical attack on RTE. The reality is that in recent years...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: I thank Dr. Mercille for coming here. In his opening statement, Dr. Mercille said, "my overarching point is that news organisations largely conveyed the views of political and economic elites". When a person opens a newspaper, he or she is faced with a multiplicity of issues, articles, reports, etc. Could Dr. Mercille explain what he means by his assertion?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Beginning on page 1 Dr. Mercille said, "Private media entities are large corporations embedded in a for-profit economic system and are thus part and parcel of the broader market economy." He stated on page 2, "Media firms are integrated into the market and feel the pressures of bankers, shareholders and directors to generate profits." Is he saying these factors affect how the media covers...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: In the lead-up to the crisis that developed, in 2008 particularly, we had the property bubble where the price of homes escalated massively and there were very large speculative gains made on land deals. Can Dr. Mercille relate what he has just told us to how the media covered those issues and covered the property bubble?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Media organisations coming before the committee today and tomorrow will tell the committee that the advertising revenues from corporations and big business that they receive do not determine how they cover issues that might touch on the affairs of those corporations. Does Dr. Mercille accept that claim? Does he believe or not that advertising revenue from the property sector influenced how...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Dr. Mercille also said that newspaper supplements, in particular, for commercial and residential properties during the bubble "glamorized the whole sector" and that editorial comment, in effect, meshed or merged with the advertisements for property. I ask him to explain that a little.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: On page 5, Dr. Mercille said, "Television followed the same pattern as the print press." I ask him to elaborate.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: I am sure that "Prime Time" would say, I imagine, that it was even-handed and impartial during the bubble. In terms of the figures Dr. Mercille gave here in regard to the selection of commentators, where they came from or their viewpoints, does he contend that it conveyed a particular view that does not challenge the bubble? Is that what he is saying?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Dr. Mercille will be familiar with a study that has been quoted in a number of introductions that we have received. The paper is entitled "From Boom to Bust: A post-Celtic Tiger analysis of the norms, values and roles of Irish financial journalists." It relates to interviews given, for example, by a former group business editor from decades ago of Independent newspapers....

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: It concerned inflation in house prices that became a major issue.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Perhaps I will be able to ask two questions in one as I will not be able to come back in. After the bubble burst, how did the mainstream media cover the aftermath and particularly the austerity programmes that were implemented as a result of the crisis? In his introduction, Dr. Mercille referred to vulture funds. He discussed the buying of tranches of residential developments and referred...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: One of the studies Dr. Mercille relies on, as well as his own study, was published in the Irish Communications Review, Vol. 12, 2010. It was conducted by three academics from Dublin City University and was entitled, "FROM BOOM TO BUST: A post-Celtic Tiger analysis of the norms, values and roles of Irish financial journalists". What was the importance of that study? What were the findings...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: It is stated on page 4 of Mr. Browne's opening statement in relation to the role of journalists during the bubble that a journalistic culture of increased workloads, casualisation, rapidly changing technological expectations and declining real rates of pay was in place throughout the industry even before the wider bust of 2007 and 2008. Features such as casualisation, declining rates of pay,...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: That is one aspect of it. The other aspect is the effect on journalists and what they produce.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Would they not be in a more vulnerable position as well?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Context Phase (25 Mar 2015)

Joe Higgins: Does this not put those journalists in a position whereby they feel weaker in terms of standing up to an editor in relation to a particular story?