Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The State agriculture research agency, Teagasc, recently reported that among farm families in Wexford, Wicklow and Carlow, the average age of a farmer is now 56.6 years. This is slightly younger than the national average, but it points to the continuing challenge of the ageing profile of those within our farm communities. I have raised on a number of occasions in this House the question of incentives for young farmers and the need to encourage more people into agriculture and food production. I hope we have a full debate with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on this issue. If it was any other sector of society or the economy where we had such a problem with an ageing population, it would be much more to the fore. Therefore, I ask for a debate on how we can encourage more young people into farming. Indeed, we should engage with Macra na Feirme, which has done much work on this issue.

This is the seventh occasion on the Order of Business that I have brought up the question of the Future of the Media Commission report. This report was provided to the Minister, Deputy Martin, by the group that was chaired by Brian MacCraith and charged with looking at the future of media in Ireland. We know that just prior to when Covid hit, a number of local radio stations said, and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland presented evidence of such, that they were within a week of closure, only for Government supports. We know local newspapers are under much pressure.The future of RTÉ depends on decisions being made on its future funding but also how it will operate. This is something the joint committee on media has raised regularly. We had to do pre-legislative scrutiny of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill without this report being published. We went through Committee Stage in this House without the report. I cannot figure out why, after nine months, we still have not seen the report of the Future of Media Commission. I am very conscious that, today, its chair, Professor Brian MacCraith, again criticised the Government for its failure to publish the report.

I am asking the Deputy Leader to write to the Minister to say this House expects the report to be published immediately in order that we can have a real debate on the future of media in Ireland. The Leader gave a commitment to me less than two weeks ago that we would schedule a debate on the future of media in the House regardless of whether the report was published. It would put some pressure on the Department to get it out there. It is simply unacceptable that a report that was provided to the Government nine months ago, and where several aspects have been leaked to the media, still has not been published. I ask that it is immediately put into the public domain.