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A NEW REPORT into Irish media ownership has called for a commission of inquiry into RTÉ’s role as Ireland’s state broadcaster, together with the “chilling effect” of our defamation laws.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan, who commissioned the report, has called on Communications Minister Denis Naughten to establish the relevant commission to investigate the Irish media landscape.
The new report, which can be viewed here, was commissioned by Boylan on behalf of the European United Left / Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group within the EU Parliament.
The report describes Ireland as having “one of the most concentrated media markets of any democracy”, with the two main controlling entities being RTÉ as state broadcaster and “individual businessman Denis O’Brien”.
The report also repeatedly makes reference to the publishing of a similar report in March of this year, by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF), which gave Ireland a score of 0.7 (on a scale of 0 to 1.0) with regards to how concerned citizens should be regarding the state of media ownership here.
In that report only Finland, Lithuania and Luxembourg were evaluated as having higher concentration levels of media ownership in the study of 19 EU member states.
The new report’s conclusions include:
Speaking at the report’s launch today in Dublin, Boylan said “it is not just media outlets that are afraid”.
“Politicians seem to balk at the thought of effectively dealing with the issue,” she said.
We need a media that holds those in powerful positions to account, one that seeks the truth and ensures that the public has access to the truth.
The Minister and all politicians must now show the political backbone required to take on those in dominant positions.
The report describes Denis O’Brien’s “litigious profligacy” in detailing the 12 lawsuits he has taken against Irish media organisations and personnel in the last six years, and describes Ireland’s defamation culture (ie that in which juries routinely make very high awards to successful plaintiffs) as being “wholly out of kilter with the rest of Europe”.
O’Brien, who was listed among the world’s top 200 billionaires last year, via his company Communicorp, owns over 40 radio stations across Europe (including Newstalk and Today FM), together with the largest shareholding in Independent News and Media.
He’s full of shi€e. He doesn’t care. If it’s no deal then we’ll have checks
@Eamonn O Connell: maybe he was talking about Czech’s as in people from that country???!!! They’ll just have Indians or “Great”British people instead……
Boris Johnson tells stories
There you go, fixed your headline. You’re welcome.
He still hasn’t come up with a realistic alternative to the agreement, and I think it’s clear he doesn’t want to.
@Keith O’Reilly: He was zero intention of proposing a viable solution.
Boris lying again, he’ll be gone by 31st October. If they leave customs union, then there must be checks on goods – or for anything else that may be hidden (drugs/people). That requires infrastructure to check/validate goods crossing the border.
@Brian Lilly: yes there will be checks for the reasons you have given whether there is the farcical backstop or not. We are being sold a pup by all sides only solution is a united Ireland every other thing will be worse for this island in both short and long run
@Sean Salmon: NI is a basket case economy, we can’t afford a United Ireland at this point in time. A border down the Irish Sea is the only viable solution, or remain.
@Sean Salmon: The Unionists will act gracefully and we won’t go back to the troubles, the killings, the missing, the British Soldiers. FFS. It’s not going to happen. Look at how we have been bowing and scraping to Baboon Johnson ~ it’s a beautiful dream but we can’t afford the counties wer have, housing, health care etc., Mise Eire is more of a dream than ever.
Lidl Trump
I’m confused. The UK voted leave so that they could take control of their borders. Now, it seems that they don’t want borders with the EU. As the UK is non-Schengen, the only open border it has with another EU country is Ireland. They only had one border to take control of and now they are against that
@Anne Marie Devlin: But almost nobody even gave a thought about N.I. during the vote and the government had no clue that people would actually win the vote to leave.
Borarse
We’re sorry Mr Johnson – not one of us believes ANYTHING you say, any more
Boris will say anything to get through the Conference. He does not know the meaning of Brazen.
You would think he has a choice in the matter. A no-deal brexit will mean border check points – everyone including Boris already acknowledged that over the last 3 yeras – and the UK will be in voilation of the Good Friday agreement.
Is it possible for the UK to leave the EU and decide not to enforce a border in Ireland? Can they simple tell the EU that if they want a boarder that they need to enforce it?
@sVRCsaSg: WTO rules will force a border.
Other countries will sue the UK for having a favourable trade route between the EU & the UK without checks when the same rules don’t apply to all other countries.
That’s what the deal was trying to avoid. Having the UK fall under the WTO rules.
@Bob Earner: ah ok. But can it not work in the reverse? That the EU could be sued for not enforcing a favourable trade route? Or is it part of the agreement with the EU that should a country leave they are responsible for this.
@Bob Earner: There is no WTO rule on borders. It’s something someone made up.
@sVRCsaSg: They can’t not have border checks, it’s absolute BS, it doesn’t make an iota of sense. Otherwise any goods/people can go into the UK from Ireland.
@Diarmuid Hunt: yes but it works the reverse also in that it makes no sense for the EU to not enforce that border as people and goods can flood in from the UK.
But they could also do what many parts of the US do where the borders aren’t so strong and have customs and enforcement within the country and deport those who entered illegally.
@Stephen Devlin: The WTO wouldn’t be “enforcing” anything, the point would be other countries could and would probably bring a dispute. The solution to the dispute would most likely be some form of Border checks.
@sVRCsaSg: If there’s a hard border there will be checks on both sides, don’t be listening to Boris’ bluster. Ireland, being part of the EU, in the event of a no deal Brexit will have to impose border checks, the UK will do the same on their side. Sometimes Boris can be cunning, this time it’s blatant BS.
@Diarmuid Hunt: yes but I’m wondering if they can simply choose not to enforce the border and would the EU then choose to enforce as your comment seems to suggest.
@sVRCsaSg: Even if the EU weren’t involved, if Ireland and UK ended up in a situation where we had no trade agreement a border would have to be imposed. Not quite sure of the legalities of them just not having border checks, but I’d put money on it that they in the case of no deal the UK will eventually have border checks.
@Diarmuid Hunt: yes but why would a border have to be imposed? I know you’re not sure of the legalities of it but that’s what I’m wondering.
That’s what happens when you let him write his own speeches. You have to assume he was drunk writing it, and hungover delivering it.
All he has proposed is moving the border ………. not a chance
Boris Johnson is going to leave the EU he doesn’t give a flying fu@k what we or the rest of Europe think, too much money to be made by his pay masters
Seems just EU wants checks so. That stick needs removing and Lieo and co need do so..
@Willy Mc Bride: it seems you’re believing Boris and his Tory chums’ bullshit.
@Willy Mc Bride: Ireland is the EU.
The good old EU will force Ireland to erect a border.
@rumug:
Ireland is the EU. It is the U.K’s intransigence that will force the border up. But you know this.
This is beyond parody. He claimed Britain led the World on everything – female emancipation, for example. There are a few people in New Zealand and South Australia who may disagree. The music they played was Baba O’Riley by the Who, the chorus of which goes “Teenage wasteland”. What are these people smoking?
“Caring Mayor of London” me Ass.Extremely expensive boss with his non starter garden bridge.How much longer will the British electorate be fooled by this garrulous clown, his sinister sidekick Cummings and their fellow right wing (Fascist) travellers.Get ready for Brexit,Get ready for going down the tubes.Boris and his friends will continue to Remain comfortable and rich!
As usual talking through his Arse
Saw the comments from priti Patel saying something about no more immigrants. I wonder what she’d be doing now if Britain enforced that when her parents came over???
No deal brexit is not no deal forever. The brits need the deal either now or in the future.
Borders aren’t real. They are man made. No one chooses the country they are born in, so separating people like that is idiotic. This Brexit craic will be sorted the sooner those in London and Brussels cop onto that.
@Simon Johnson: boarders reflect the areas where a people (often a nation but not always) have control over their own affairs. They’re petri dishes for different cultures and governance ideas. They’re the same thing as a house (which is also man made and separates people). You have the right to maintain your house as you please and a right to enjoy it peacefully and decide who to invite in.
@sVRCsaSg: ah but your house must comply to rules to be able to be built- for sensible reasons. Borders are the same
@Dave Harris: true, although I’d argue a lot of those regulations are too much. But yes borders are the same, the international community attempts to regulate if a state tries to expand it’s borders or threatens another nations ability to maintain their borders.
But it doesn’t mean that borders or houses don’t exist and don’t exist for good reasons.
But it raises a good question as to who controls your borders.
@sVRCsaSg: you don’t put a border through someones home. The nearest border we should have, is down the Irish sea. Will solve many problems.
@DaMoons: yes but people would also say you have to have a border around your home/nation/state to allow it to exist.
But yes it’s a balancing act and the lines aren’t so clear in this circumstance.
Instead of a border if he gets his way we will finish up getting two borders.. History repeating itself.
Boris Johnson was never going to put a proposal to the E U that could be accepted so he could go back to the parliament and blame the E U for the breakdown
I saw him in a shop in England years ago looking for calf nuts and he must have got them
We deploy our Defence Forces ha ha ha ha
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