Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

This is a real pity because the media is different. Various Members have raised the question of competition and concentration of ownership, dominant position, abuse of dominant position, cross-media ownership and so on. As I have said, it is different from making concrete blocks or producing widgets in the garage because the media conditions the kind of democracy in which we live and therefore, diversity of content and of ownership are very important. That is why different rules must apply. Several Senators had too little time to develop the points they wanted to make. Senator Healy Eames and others asked about social media and new media and the balance between the public interest and freedom of the press. No one in the western world knows the answer to some of these questions. We are struggling with them. Whether Senator Norris accepts it, there is a structure for the print media.