I welcome the establishment of the Future of Media Commission, which I have called for on a number of occasions over the years. There have been recent job losses in the sector due to lost advertising revenue as a result of Covid, and many more titles, broadcasters and jobs are under threat. This comes at a time when it has never been more important that the public can rely on trusted sources for their information at local, regional and national level, and indeed via online platforms.

I am sure the Taoiseach will agree that it is essential that the make-up of the commission is inclusive. The last thing we want to see is a worthy initiative such as the establishment of this commission falling short because there are gaps in expertise. It is also essential that the terms of reference of the commission are broad enough and cover all the key issues without being too unwieldy.

The sustainability of the media sector is impacted by Covid-19 but it has also been hugely impacted in recent years by the loss of advertising revenue to social media platforms and digital search engines. I would have thought this aspect would have been thoroughly considered, particularly given that some of these platforms do not themselves generate content but rely on the work of others for content.

The terms of reference provide for the commission to look at Irish public service broadcasters as well as other broadcasters in addition to the print media at all levels, and to look at a sustainable future. That is the central tenet of the work. There are, however, other aspects that impinge on the sector's sustainability, including Ireland's defamation laws. While everyone is entitled to his or her good name, the balance of our defamation laws often protects the individual at the expense of society. I would have thought the commission would have been asked to consider this important aspect, not least because it has a chilling effect. Issues that are in the public interest on occasions are not aired because of the risk of ending up in the High Court, which has the potential to put further jobs in the industry at risk. It often takes significant courage on behalf of an editor to air stories. What we saw that recently in the past year with The Sunday Times and the very successful book written by Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan that is out at the moment articulates that very well. Many sports journalists were frustrated over the years that they could not write those stories. Had they been able to write those stories, one wonders if the FAI would be in the position it is at the moment. It just demonstrates the point.

A defamation case was successfully defended last year, which was in the courts for three weeks. The courts are not always available to citizens but they are certainly available to those with deep pockets and a zest for litigation.

The NUJ has looked for trade union and print industry representation on the commission. Others have looked for similar representation for the digital news media and the university sector. Will the Taoiseach consider expanding the make-up of the commission? Will he extend the terms of reference to include social media platforms and our defamation laws?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issues. A strong, vibrant and independent media on all platforms is central to our parliamentary democracy and to freedom of speech. The Future of Media Commission is platform agnostic in that sense. It is not taking a preferential view of one platform over another. It is being asked to look at public service broadcasting into the future and how that should be underpinned, public service media, which are important, how to ensure ring-fenced editorial independence into the future, and financial sustainability, which is in its terms of reference. The Deputy is correct when she says that advertising revenues plummeted when the pandemic hit. Yet, we still depended on all media to be an enormous assistance to society and to the State in the public health messages that emerged during the pandemic, from local radio to print media to television and social media.

There has been very significant innovation in terms of online journals and online media platforms like The Currency, Joe.ie and The Journal, among many others. Therefore, we must look at what the future holds. There is a lot of expertise on the commission.

There is a commitment in the programme for Government to review and reform our defamation laws to ensure a better balance while protecting freedom of speech and access to justice and to cover the points that the Deputy has correctly identified. No one likes the current situation because our defamation laws have a chilling effect on quite a lot of journalism and on democracy itself. A separate look at that would probably be more effective and efficient. The Future of Media Commission has a lot on its plate already. The public service dimension is urgent in terms of the financial underpinning of it. What has been happening over the last number of years is not acceptable and we need to come to a decision, not just at Government level but within the Oireachtas, collectively, on how we financially underpin good public service broadcasting and media. If we believe in it as a core value of democracy then we have to put aside partisan party politics with a view to doing the right thing for the future of our democracy and for future generations. This is particularly important in a world where there are lots of competing demands around media, a lot of generation of false facts, fake and misleading news and utilisation of algorithms to distort public information processes. These practices are very extensive, as recent revelations have shown, and one of the most effective ways to combat it is through a robust, independent, financially sustainable and editorially free media.

I want an independent media and do not want it to be hamstrung by our defamation laws. I accept that there is a commitment on this in the programme for Government. I ask the Taoiseach to tell us when he thinks that commitment will be fulfilled by way of legislation. That said, I would have thought that asking the Future of Media Commission to look at this area would have enriched rather than diminished its work.

Financial sustainability is related to advertising revenue and there is no doubt that the amount of advertising revenue that is now diverted to social media platforms, some of which do not generate content, is an obvious issue for the commission to examine because financial sustainability of media cannot be guaranteed without income sources. Obviously RTÉ is our primary public service broadcaster but I hope that the commission will not primarily focus on the sustainability of RTÉ but will have a much wider remit. I do not see how that can happen if it does not look at advertising revenue, particularly in print media. Practical experience of the day-to-day problems in the sustainability of local, regional and national titles would have enriched the work of the commission and I am surprised that the make-up of the commission does not include that type of expertise.

The commission has a very wide agenda already and it would not have been correct to include defamation as well. Defamation in itself can be complex and needs a separate process involving the Department of Justice and Equality, the Minister with responsibility for media, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Government as a whole. Defamation needs to be reviewed and we will follow through on the programme for Government commitment.

The Deputy said that some social media platforms do not generate content but quite a lot of them do generate their own content. It is a new media platform which many use and for some it can be very liberating and productive. People who may never have gotten an opportunity to contribute through traditional media forums get such an opportunity online. There are some fantastic blogs and journals and that has to be acknowledged.

I have no issue with that.

Yes but I just wanted to say that the commission deals with that. It also deals with the financial underpinning of media into the future and the changing media landscape. Public service broadcasting is still a very important part of that, as is local radio. We have seen the best of the media during the pandemic itself, which should reinforce our commitment to do something about the financial underpinning of all of that because the current licence fee and collection regime is not fit for purpose. That will be the big test for the Oireachtas in terms of how we want to underpin media into the future from a financial perspective.