Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister. It is generally agreed that the subject matter of this debate is exceptionally important. I agree with those who expressed the view that we should revisit the matter in a broader sense in the future.

Will the Minister consider launching an investigation into the future of investigative journalism? I say this primarily because the British House of Lords has already published such a report. One of the subsequent UK-based blogs put it into context by stating:

...in the print press at least there is less spent on original from the ground up journalism. This is particularly true at local level where circulations have plummeted and advertising revenue has fallen off a cliff in the last decade. There is evidence that in certain local areas there is now sparse reporting of council meetings and court cases, and little scrutiny of other public authorities... It [the report] also raises entirely valid concerns about the growth of public relations, and the opaque use of public relations material by journalists.

I am sure Senator Whelan, from his time as editor, will remember getting all the press releases - a creeping disease - and trying to figure out whether they were objective. The blog continued by quoting the excellent recommendation from the House of Lords report that: "journalists themselves be transparent in their use of press releases particularly online where barriers to publishing links to press releases are low." In other words, press releases are now ruling the roost because of lazy journalism. Investigative journalism, which has been at the heart of much of what has been good in this country as the Minister mentioned in his speech, is under severe threat. As a result of mistakes that have been made, others are now dumping on the concept of investigative journalism and suggesting that it is inherently flawed, when it should be at the core of what a free, open and transparent democracy should be about. Does the Minister believe it is necessary to consider the future of investigative journalism here?