Media practitioners must always be glad of any considered expression of views by political figures on the operation of the Fourth Estate. There is occasional ritual denunciation, as members of one party or another find fault with this television programme or that newspaper. But there is little reflection and less informed comment from most politicians on the role of the media, the standards to which they should operate and the means by which those standards can be upheld. An outstanding and honourable exception must be former Minister Mr Richard Bruton who instituted the Finlay Commission on the newspaper industry.
Thus it is mildly heartening to learn that former Tanaiste and Labour Party leader, Mr Dick Spring, is thinking about these issues. He is considering the possible shape and role of a press council for Ireland. This was revealed last week in an RTE interview with Joe Duffy and his remarks were reported in the columns of this newspaper. Mr Spring declared that he had not yet finalised his thinking on the matter. In part, at least, his concern is born out of his experiences with the media last year when his young son was taken ill with suspected meningitis symptoms. Happily, the scare was unfounded.
It must be hoped that Mr Spring will persist with his reflections and that his conclusions will percolate back into public debate within Dail Eireann and elsewhere. He understands well the function which a free press discharges in a democratic society. He is sufficiently well-connected internationally to learn how these matters are ordered in other, comparable societies. He also has access to Labour Party research facilities.
The great pity is that Mr Spring did not evidence similar interest while he was Tanaiste or leader of his party. An amount of public discussion took place over the last three years during which he was in office, culminating in the report of the Finlay Commission. But Mr Spring's wing of the government hardly contributed to the debate at all. Mr Ruairi Quinn floated the idea that the State should accede to Dr AJF O'Reilly's request that it provide a new printing plant primarily for the benefit of his company's titles. And Mr Spring's Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr Mervyn Taylor, declared that he was not prepared to put reform of the libel laws on his action agenda since he did not regard it as a priority. Mr Justice Finlay's report, which recommended a series of measures to strengthen Irish newspapers while improving their standards, was allowed to lie fallow.
Irish newspapers - individually and under their umbrella body, the National Newspapers of Ireland - have expressed their willingness to examine proposals for improving standards and accountability. But they believe that any such process must take place in a context which also looks at libel, contempt and related questions. They also believe that consideration should be given to the particular vulnerabilities of Irish newspapers. They carry the highest VAT rating in the European Union and they face internal competition from vastly larger and better-resourced rivals from Britain. It may be that Mr Ahern's Coalition Government will at least address this agenda. Mr Spring, Mr Quinn and others might do worse than research the issues in preparation for the debate. They could start with Mr Justice Finlay's report.