John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I ask the Leader for a debate on the workings of a press council in light of a number of issues that have arisen recently. One perennial issue is imbalance in the media not only here but in other countries where the media come down on one side of an issue and give a distorted view. We need only look at the elections in America, and not specifically the presidential election. An amendment was voted down by 11 states in the state elections but the liberal media were so far on one side they lost sight of the reality on the ground. It is very important to have balance in reporting.

I am intrigued by the sequence of events here this morning. A debate was offered but because the Government has indicated it is voting a particular way, the debate is being pulled and we are told we are undemocratic. This should be debated properly. The Government is not undemocratic. It did a very democratic thing.