I put it to the Taoiseach that in the context of the programme for Government and media plurality, the really concerning aspect of his remarks in New York this week is that the Taoiseach is in sympathy with President Trump's view of the media. President Trump is probably one of the worst examples of a political leader who regularly demonises the media and media personalities. The Taoiseach should not have any sympathy with him or his plight with the media.

The Taoiseach condemned the print media and said the print media is jealous of social media because it takes the print media's business. That is not the case. Social media has been shown to distort news and to be used in situations such as Brexit and in Donald Trump's election in terms of voters, news stories and fake news.

Time please Deputy.

The Taoiseach complains about there being too many journalists in Leinster House, and that they are interested in gossip. The former Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, would have been very interested to hear this because-----

The Deputy's time is up.

-----he considered you quite notorious in feeding the rumour mill in Leinster House on an ongoing basis with journalists and the Taoiseach was not remiss in that regard.

This is not the first time the Taoiseach has criticised the media. At the time of the setting up of the strategic communication unit the Taoiseach said-----

The Deputy is way over time.

-----that more than 80% of the media's treatment of the Government was critical, that he had a problem about that and he wanted to rebalance it.

Will the Taoiseach and the Government pursue proposals for greater media plurality and around the question of media ownership? Does the Taoiseach accept the need for regulation of social media in political debate, elections and referendums?

Anybody can distort the news. It is not just social media that distorts news.

Social media is not serious discussion, it is opinion polls.

There are many people who are well capable of distorting the news. I do not consider anybody to be above criticism or beyond reproach. Nobody likes to be criticised. I do not like it. Deputy Martin is very sensitive about it in particular when it happens.

Not half as sensitive as the Taoiseach.

If one is willing to offer criticism it is just part of democracy in many ways.

Does the Taoiseach sympathise with President Trump?

Please.

With regard to the actions we have taken to support media, we estimate that the 9% VAT rate has been worth some €100 million to the print news industry since we reduced it. We are currently bringing in amendments to the Broadcasting Act, which will reduce the broadcasting levy on independent broadcasters by up to 50%. We have also announced a new funding scheme to provide bursaries to young journalists working in local or community radio stations who produce content with a real public service value. We will carry out a review of the Defamation Act. This is being done by the Department of Justice and Equality. These are all very obvious examples of where the Government supports media and a free press. I do not think these are the kinds of things one would see being done by a US Administration.

I do not know if the Taoiseach is deliberately missing the point that is being raised. It is not a case of the media being above criticism. Of course they are not, nor should they be. For the purposes of clarity, is the Taoiseach telling us that the commentary attributed to him was wrong? Is the Taoiseach suggesting that the people who reported his comments were being deliberately misleading? Is this the Taoiseach's position? This seems to be what the Taoiseach is suggesting. Why on earth would people do that? The Taoiseach has not denied the fact that he aligned his views with those of President Donald Trump but the Taoiseach is rather coy in putting some detail around it. Which part of President Trump's analysis does the Taoiseach share? The Taoiseach and his Government have not in any way answered the issue around concentration of media ownership. Anybody looking at the Irish media landscape would immediately say this is the glaring issue that needs to be addressed.

What part of this is promised legislation?

Deputy McDonald's time is up.

What part of the Trump analysis did the Taoiseach agree with in his commentary at the event in New York? The Taoiseach is hardly suggesting that people have made these things up, or is he?

I think I answered that question already. The event was a private lunch. It was an over and back conversation. As I have said, there is a particular context to this and I was not quoted in full. I have given an example of some of the other things I said about the media, which were positive. My only reference to RTÉ was about one particular programme which was an example of how investigative journalism is not always true. People should not be afraid to acknowledge that.

The issue of media ownership was not a topic of the discussion at any point. No-one raised it. I am, however, very aware that Reporters Without Borders has produced some interesting views on this. It has stated a concern that the Independent Group is too powerful in the print media and that RTÉ is too dominant in the broadcast base. I am open to suggestions as to how we can resolve that.