Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

When we discussed this on Committee Stage I said that balance is necessary and important, because quite rightly there is a demand that justice be seen to be done. The current situation is not satisfactory. We need reportage but not a free-for-all with people's privacy invaded. I ask the Minister to ensure that as far as possible a good balance is retained. I also suggested on Committee Stage that the Minister should enter into discussions with the National Union of Journalists. He did not indicate at the time that he had done so. I assume he has not and ask him to consider having such discussions. We should not assume that all journalists will be responsible regarding the reporting of court matters.

I read the obituaries of Mary Holland. In the past, the former The Irish Times journalist Mary Maher, along with Mary Holland, Nell McCafferty and others, uncovered in The Irish Times an entire area of Irish life which needed to be uncovered. Other newspapers did similar work. We must remember that the media play an important role in keeping the public informed of what is going on, but must also be accountable. It is difficult to get the balance right. I accept that professional standards in journalism have fallen in some areas and that we do not feel as confident as we used to regarding how matters are reported. I ask the Minister to retain a good balance as far as is possible when he is framing law in this area.