Media bias and public standards
Michael Healy-Rae asked whether alleged favourable newspaper coverage of political candidates would be addressed in the public sector standards Bill. The Ceann Comhairle redirected the press complaint, while the Taoiseach indicated the Bill was expected later in the year.
Where one public representative receives a massive public relations boost from one newspaper whereby week after week two or three pages of positive reporting for one candidate and negative reporting for the other-----
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------will this be dealt with in the public sector standards Bill? If the Taoiseach cannot answer this, it is a pity that the Tánaiste in waiting, as christened by the Sunday Independent "wonder woman", is not the Taoiseach's candidate-----
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The Bill is the public sector standards Bill.
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-----in the recent contest to be the leader of the Labour Party were dealt with very harshly by one newspaper and there were reams of paper for wonder woman.
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I know the Deputy is interested in this. If I recall correctly, the Deputy, himself, received massive publicity for answering telephone calls or making bills of them. He got more publicity out of that than people did for years of hard labour here.
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The Taoiseach did not answer the question.
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Now the Deputy is holding the Minister in the Chamber.
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The new Tánaiste will answer that question.