Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

San am ghearr atá agam ba mhaith liom tagairt faoi leith a dhéanamh dos na meáin Gaeilge, rud a dhéanaimid dearmad air scaití, agus ard-mholadh ach go háirid a thabhairt do TG4 agus Raidio na Gaeltachta, mar samplaí den seirbhís poiblí craoltóireachta den chéad scoth atá ar fáil againn sa tír seo.

Ag tagairt don phointe a rinne an Seanadóir Whelan ar ball maidir leis an pá a bhíonn á fhail ag cuid de réalta RTÉ, tháinig cuid mhaith de réalta RTÉ ó TG4 agus bhíodar ar phá i bhfad níos ísle ansin. Cás é sin le gur féidir linn, agus go bhfuil an tallann sa tír le cuid des na cláracha atá ag teastáil uainn a dhéanamh ar ard chaighdeán agus ar phraghas i bhfad níos ísle. Is fiú sin a thógáil san áireamh nuair atáimid ag plé ceisteanna na méan.

"Comment is free, but facts are sacred" was the maxim of C. P. Scott, who 100 years ago was the editor of the Manchester Guardian, now the Guardian, newspaper. His aphorism stands as a remarkably succinct summation of the role of journalists and how they should conduct themselves. They are free to air their views and challenge received wisdom but they have a duty to highlight issues which would not ordinarily be in the public domain and must always maintain high standards without bending the truth in any way. Regrettably it appears C. P. Scott's wise words are not always remembered or considered in this and other jurisdictions.

Politicians have not entirely avoided this mistake either. Certain Ministers, Senators and Deputies have made statements based on journalism that was inaccurate and, as a result, have had to retract them. As politicians, we too must be careful when we make statements based on journalism.

The Leveson inquiry and the disturbing tale of the hacked voicemail of the murdered schoolgirl, Milly Dowler, has had terrible consequences in other jurisdictions. The media will certainly make mistakes as we all do, but incidents such as those I have just mentioned have a rather different character from mistakes. They are the symptom of a hunger for the sensational story with scant concern for ethical journalism and in other instances dishonestly propagating an agenda which suits particular interests. As to the latter, the regular and often inaccurate pillorying of the public sector within certain Sunday publications springs to mind.

We have very limited interest in the media in a country where the interests of the wealthy and the views of the media concur in a way that limit the breadth of public discourse. The extension of public service broadcasting, the print media, etc., are crucial. We need to ensure that through the commercial media, space is made available for proper journalism and proper comment. That needs to be part of the licensing regime for those media outlets.