Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I did not open my mouth when Senator Devine was talking. When the gauntlet was thrown down to Sinn Féin to form the Government here it ran away. We will take no lectures from Sinn Féin; its words are shallow.

I would appreciate it if the Leader could ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to come to the Chamber to discuss the need to protect local and regional newspapers. I am calling on the Minister to set up a commission to review local and regional print media before it is too late. The Cairncross review was recently published in Britain. It came up with logical answers to protect credible local journalism, which is so important for the health of local democracy and local news. The Cairncross review also found that finding a way to support local news is now a matter of urgency. It recommended a study of online advertising, often called "news feeds", which are widely known from Facebook and Google. These often contain anything but news.

I recently discussed these findings with Mr. Johnny O'Hanlon, who most of us know from Local Ireland, which represents 35 local newspapers and printers throughout Ireland. He is adamant that an immediate review and revival plan for local media is urgently required. The Leader might ask the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to come to the Chamber to discuss local and regional print media with us. I know that the issue is close to the Leader's heart, and that he has commented on it here before.