Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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812. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on whether new media mergers legislation is required, and if it should be retrospective in scope and content. [23031/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Retrospective actions were not provided for in the relevant legislation. The regime is designed in the 2014 legislation to give the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the responsibility for assessing proposed media mergers, and to empower the Minister to block any merger that is deemed likely to be contrary to the public interest in maintaining the plurality of media in the State. No provision was made in that legislation to allow a Minister open a case against a media business of their own volition in the absence of a proposed merger. This would be a substantially different matter to dealing with mergers, and would in effect mean empowering a Government Minister to determine the fate of media businesses, to order the breakup of any media organisation at any given time, albeit within the confines of the law.

I believe such legislation would raise a number of difficult questions about preserving the freedom and independence of the media, in addition to the legal and constitutional complexities associated with retrospective action of this kind.

Ireland enjoys an exemplary record with regard to the freedom of the media. Protecting this freedom and ensuring the public interest in maintaining the plurality of media in the State is achieved are our most important aims in this area. I believe the reforms introduced by the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 strike an appropriate balance.