This speech was made on April 9th as part of NewsBrands Ireland’s annual Oireachtas briefing in Leinster House

Good afternoon TDs, Senators, advisors, and colleagues in the news publishing industry

As Chair of NewsBrands Ireland and Head of Operations for the Irish Farmers Journal, I’m incredibly proud to be part of a publication that is a successful, homegrown Irish business.

However, like other news publishers, we face significant challenges. To safeguard trusted journalism, we urgently need strong legislative protection—both at the Government and EU levels—to secure the future of our industry.

In recent years, there have been some very positive steps taken by the Irish government to support journalism, including the appointment of a Minister for Media, the removal of VAT on printed and digital newspapers, journalism funding schemes, and ongoing work to reform our outdated defamation laws.

Press Freedom: Defamation law reforms are crucial.

Our current laws can hinder the press’s ability to investigate and expose matters of public interest, due to the overwhelming risks and costs they impose on publishers.

We fully support the provision in the Defamation Bill to abolish juries in defamation cases, as their involvement in trials significantly extends proceedings, drives up legal costs, and leads to unpredictable verdicts.

The Programme for Government – committed to passing this Bill within 90 days – but that deadline has now passed and we urge its immediate enactment.

Along with defamation law reform, one of the most pressing issues we face today is the appropriation of our content by Big Tech and ineffective copyright legislation. Our members bear the high financial costs of producing quality journalism, which is being harvested for search, social media and Ai without proper agreement or compensation.

International Models to future-proof journalism

What can be done?  Well, there are models internationally which we can learn from.

If you are wondering, “Where’s my accent from?” Well, I’m Sydney-born and bred. After over 20 years working in news publishing there, I’ve observed how similar the Irish and Australian journalism industries are. Both have a long history of producing high-quality journalism, and both governments generally respect and support the press.

We draw inspiration from the steps the Australian government and the competition authority have taken to protect journalism, especially through the News Media Bargaining Code. This mandatory code ensures fair commercial relationships between News businesses and digital platforms, addressing the significant power imbalances that exist. Similar initiatives are underway in the US, and Canada.

The EU Copyright Directive was designed to create a fairer digital market by ensuring creators and publishers receive fair compensation from digital platforms for the use of their content.

However, unlike in other member states, the transposing legislation in Ireland has not introduced provision for good faith negotiations and arbitration or provided any mechanisms to support publishers in their negotiations with platforms.

In France for example, on top of a strong transposition of the Directive, the competition authority, through sanctions, played a key role in forcing Google to make meaningful remuneration proposals to press publishers. We believe that intervention by the CCPC in a similar way could assist in concluding agreements.

We strongly urge Ireland to take more effective action on how the EU Copyright Directive is implemented, so that media organisations here can benefit from its protections, like our EU counterparts. 

The Government must also push to prevent the further dilution of the draft EU AI Act Code of Practise, which was established to ensure that AI systems designed for a broad range of tasks are deployed ethically, transparently, and safely. In its current form, it fails to meet its objectives regarding copyright.

To be clear, we are pro-technology and pro-innovation. We embrace AI’s potential and already use it as a tool – but there will always be a person liable and accountable for news products generated with the assistance of AI. 

How Irish Journalism can thrive

Ensuring the sustainability of the news publishing industry isn’t about handouts or outdated state aid. It’s about:

• Creating a competitive environment that encourages investment in news publishing.
• Developing policies that allow quality journalism to thrive in the digital age.

Our issue is not of relevance, our journalism has never been so widely available and widely read. While print sales are indeed declining, this does not mean that people have abandoned quality journalism. In fact, research from Kantar Media shows that 80% of Irish people still engage with either print or digital news every week. News publishers, large and small, have adapted to this shift.

Many of our readers have moved online, and we’ve responded by ensuring our journalism is accessible across podcasts, video, print, and digital.

We are asking the government to help us to continue to provide quality Irish journalism, journalism that is not only trustworthy, but accountable to the public. NewsBrands and Local Ireland are founding members of the Press Council of Ireland and our content adheres to the highest ethical standards, including the Press Council code of practice.

Unlike content generated by algorithms or unchecked sources, our journalism is created by skilled professionals who follow strict editorial oversight. This is the journalism that ensures democracy remains healthy and that the public is informed, engaged, and empowered.

Time really is of the essence. Without robust legislative measures, without fair compensation for the content we produce, and without protecting journalism from harmful new threats like AI-generated misinformation, we risk losing the very foundations that sustain a free and democratic society.