Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Although I sympathise with certain elements because I regret that we have such an adversarial frame in our debates, often with very strong privileging of heat over light in political programming, in respect of which balance is important, I am concerned about the amendment. I do not know whether the weighting of political parties will be the way we move towards more balanced and nuanced coverage of political issues. It seems that we could just move into a permanent election dynamic. We see this sometimes in the Dáil. Political programmes are not simply about seeking support but also about perspectives. Someone like me, who is almost never on the television, can bring something to a debate. I do not feature very much in the media but, along with my colleague, I have 150 amendments, which indicates a lot of thought and perspective on this Bill alone. If we go simply by weighting, we almost lose the voices of each person. I have great respect for every parliamentarian and recognise the individual perspectives and ideas people are bringing; however, if a contribution simply becomes a symbolic proxy piece, it is really worrying. I am really worried about that direction. One needs to look to situations and recognise the diversity within a Government, whether it has three partners or otherwise. There is thinking to be done in this regard but weighting by party could mean those with really important things to say on issues do not get heard. It may happen that there are two or three voices. Two members of the same party might be the key debaters who need to be heard on an issue. It would be a pity if that got lost. I would be concerned if it were a matter of holding the space.

My next comment is not directed at the proposer of the amendment or the Minister but I am aware of a party in government whose leader was specifically reported as having been given an edict to make sure not as much platform space would be given to Opposition voices and other perspectives. That is a concern. Sometimes I worry – again, this is not directed at those present – about some of the rulings of the Cathaoirleach on space given and time. That is to be debated. We fight for parliamentary space all the time because the Government can win every vote. It has a crushing majority, but it is really important that we can at least get our voices heard, air our ideas and try to persuade people. In that sense, I have a concern although I understand the frustration. I share it myself in many ways when I consider the way political programming is framed in Ireland. This week has been a sterling example of one that entails a not-very-constructive debate quite specifically focused on heat rather than light.