Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I commend Senator Eamonn Coghlan on the positive note he struck this morning. Indeed, a few more positive notes would not go astray here from time to time.

There has always been cross-party consensus in this House on the Irish language. That was evident both when dealing with the Official Languages Act and the 20 year strategy. Unanimity was achieved in both cases. It was not very easy but it was a great achievement for the language at the time. I do not wish to see any downgrading of the vision set out in the Official Languages Act and the 20 year strategy. The Supreme Court has already put down a marker in regard to certain legal instruments being made available in the Irish language. The person who brought that to our notice was the former Leader of Fine Gael in the Seanad, former Senator Maurice Manning, an eminent gentleman. While what is being discussed at present might not be a legal instrument in the same way, I have a feeling that if it goes back to the courts, there will be another view on that as well. The Leader always listens carefully so I ask him to maintain the consensus that exists here and, second, to ensure the right of people to have this documentation made available to them in Irish. I hope that can still be achieved.

I support Senators Ivana Bacik and John Whelan in seeking a debate on the media, particularly arising from the hacking scandal involving the News of the World in Britain. The British Prime Minister might have been understated when he described it as disgusting given that it was the most vulnerable people who were the victims of this hacking. Senator Whelan is quite correct about the ownership of the media in this country. I raised the issue several times in the House over a number of years when I saw the monopolies that were being built up and the Tipperary Star, the Clonmel Nationalist, the Kilkenny People and other newspapers going out of Irish ownership.

There is an issue here of editorial rights or editorial responsibility. If it is being handed down from owners, to editors and then to journalists, we are in a very sorry situation, particularly those of us who seriously support the freedom of the media and freedom of expression, which this House always has. I urge all Members to read the editorial in the Irish Independent today which makes a decent effort to put into context what has happened with this hacking scandal.