November 14, 2024

Thank you for the warm introduction.  It is my pleasure to join you this afternoon for the 2024 Irish Journalism Awards.

Week one, of a three week General Election campaign, where the stakes couldn’t be higher, giving a speech to a room full of people whose job it is to examine and pass judgement on politicians.

Where on earth would I rather be?

But I am genuinely grateful to have been asked to be a part of today’s event.

I’m also grateful to live and have a role in public life in a country where journalism is taken seriously, where it is respected, and where those who practice it are honoured in this way.

A very quick perusal of the portfolio of shortlisted stories, campaigns and opinions up for awards today will disabuse any notion that Government and the media in Ireland are unnaturally close.

And that is how it should be – although an occasional supportive word wouldn’t go amiss!

But what I think we have in Ireland is a recognition of the importance of what each other does, in the service of something bigger and more important than either of us.

In the first days of this campaign, some in the Opposition chose to focus on this theme of ‘100 years is too much’, etc. 

I was surprised by that, because if you are going to zoom out to that perspective, you are forced to concede that the story of Ireland’s progress is actually remarkable. 

100 years ago our state was the poorest in Europe, with one of the lowest life-expectancies, one of the lowest levels of education and very serious questions about its ability to survive.

In terms of health, education, economic development, public investment, you name it, our country has been transformed.

And that didn’t happen by chance – it happened by choice.  It happened because of decisions which put in place the foundations on which we have built a modern European democracy.

We face many very serious challenges, but these are dwarfed by those we have already overcome.

And I do think that a central part of our success over the past century is that we have always had an independent, professional media.  We have always had a diversity of opinions. 

And in our public realm we have been committed to core democratic principles including accountability and open debate.

By campaigning on issues, reporting on malpractice, putting a spotlight on areas of failure, the media has helped drive positive change and underpinned the strength of our democracy.

And it continues today.  I referenced the portfolio of shortlisted entries for today’s awards.

There are some very powerful examples of what I am talking about in there.  Often very critical of Government, but powerful and necessary. 

I’ll not name any in particular, for fear that anyone might get an idea that I know who has won (I don’t), but the work we are celebrating this afternoon has impact – on your readers, on the political environment, on Government, and on society.

It’s an obvious point I know, but it bears repeating. 

Because at times of crisis it is important to remind ourselves of the essentials; and as traditional media outlets struggle with the impact of the social media platforms, we need to remember the value and importance of what you do.

Public interest, fact based journalism has never been more important in a world that is, increasingly, in a perilous condition. 

Democracies are facing unprecedented challenges, with misinformation being weaponised to divide people and destabilise societies.

As I said when I was supporting your World News Day initiative earlier this year, “When there are so many competing voices and sources of information; when there are algorithmic echo chambers; when bad actors go out to sow hate, the value of professional and trusted journalism only increases.”

As I hope I’ve demonstrated in our various interactions over time, I value what you do very highly. 

I hope I’ve also demonstrated that in Government, with our decision to zero-rate VAT on newspapers and digital publications.  I want to acknowledge the work that Newsbrands Ireland did in highlighting and supporting that policy.

We also introduced the Defamation Bill. 

As you know, this legislation will radically reform our defamation laws at a time when they are increasingly being used to intimidate journalists, media outlets and indeed political opponents.

It will ensure that defamation awards are proportionate, and it will reduce delays and legal costs.

It will protect publishers against strategic lawsuits (SLAPPS) and will safeguard responsible public interest journalism.

The aggressive use of defamation laws to stifle independent journalism, and fair political debate, is a problem which will become a crisis if not stopped now.

Unfortunately we ran out of time in the last Dáil before it was passed, but for me it remains a priority.  Therefore my party is giving a clear commitment to restore the Defamation Bill in full to the Order Paper at Committee Stage and pass it within three months.

I believe that safeguarding our democratic future must become a dominant priority for Ireland.  We outlined a range of proposals on this on Monday.  I hope that others will do so as well – because this is an area where we need far more political unity.

I believe that we must do more to value and reward professional journalism.  We must ensure that national and local media are paid properly for their news content when it is used by online platforms.

Through Coimisiún na Meán, we will introduce further measures to support the training and upskilling of professional journalists.  Also through the Coimisiún, we will allocate Shared Island Funding to schemes which encourage professional cross border reporting on an ongoing basis and not just at times of crisis.

In this we need to do more to recognise that the public interest is served by a wider range of media than just public service broadcasters.

I believe that we should increase the Global Ireland Media Challenge Fund, to build capacity of Irish media outlets to undertake quality reporting on international geopolitical events.

We are committing to increase funding to local radio and newspaper outlets to ensure they are sustainable, as they provide a vital role in ensuring our local communities remain well informed on local issues and local politics; we will also provide support for media outlets for Digital Transformation.

It’s not directly relevant this afternoon, but we also have proposals on the expansion of the Sound and Vision scheme.

If we believe in the continued, unique and positive role of professional journalism then we have to support this work in a more comprehensive, constructive, positive and forwarding-looking way. 

It will always be the case that politicians will spend much of their time complaining about journalists – and let me be clear, I intend maintaining this tradition! 

But we should all do more to recognise how independent, professional journalism is absolutely crucial to the strength and resilience of our democratic, republican system.

Thank you again Anne Marie for inviting me to be part of today’s event and thank you for the work you and your colleagues do through Newsbrands.

To all the individual journalists sitting here nervously waiting for the results, trying to look cool and calm while your peers pass judgement on your work and worth, I feel your pain!

And the very best of luck.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

-Ends-