Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I find it encouraging to hear so many Senators calling for greater responsibility and accountability on the part of certain sections of the media. In the past, there was a tendency to remain silent lest we might suffer the media's ire by criticising them. I have had a couple of such instances in this House. On a few occasions I called on the National Union of Journalists to see if the ethics of that profession were being upheld. However, the union wrote to the CPP complaining about me. That letter was circulated to every Senator at that time. Luckily, when I checked the official record I found that they had erred with regard to the case they had cited. Eventually they offered me an apology and asked me if I wanted a public apology.

At the time of the Liam Lawlor case, I made the point that if a public representative had done what a particular Sunday newspaper did, they would call immediately for our heads. Three weeks later, the newspaper ran a story about another issue on which I had spoken, which was totally at variance with the record. I checked the Official Report and the paper was wrong in that case. It even went as far as publishing a cartoon with the article. I wrote privately to the editor furnishing him with a copy of the record of the House and the report from the Sunday Independent, asking whether this was ethical and fair comment. I heard nothing for three weeks and then got a telephone call. It was evident they had decided they were going to do a good news story for me and gave me a half a page. That is not the way to run this business. If we can be criticised daily and rightly held to account, likewise, the media must accept criticism. By showing a stubborn streak in complaining, writing and trying subsequently to misrepresent someone, they are doing harm to their own profession, credibility and the great record which so many journalists have had in the past. At this stage, we should take off the gloves. It should not be dealt with on the Order of Business but in a real debate on the issue.