Deputy Joanna Byrne has already stated the issue, which had previously been brought up by Lynn Boylan, regarding the fears we have about Ireland's media being owned by a very small number of players. We brought this issue up because of the huge footprint Denis O'Brien had at the time. You cannot talk about the negatives of media ownership and the impact it can have on world politics without talking about what Rupert Murdoch did in Britain. He decided who would be prime minister. Prime ministers did deals with him before they were within smelling distance of an election. Tony Blair has gone on the record as having done that. What was that headline about Neil Kinnock and the last person out switching off the lights? That is the reality. We also see every day, although in some cases we may try not to see, what Fox News and others do in America. We can call these news corporations but there are probably more suitable terms. We are into the realms of absolute farce at this point in time. That is a particular issue. Can we deliver media scrutiny and proper rules and regulations across the entire world? Of course we cannot. We have to deal with Ireland. As Deputy Byrne said, we are doing this on foot of European legislation. In this case, we are very glad it was initiated but we need to ensure we have all the checks and balances and due diligence necessary to ensure a huge level of ownership, control and power are not left in a small number of hands, who can work in concert if they choose to and who can direct and disrupt politics. We know the detrimental impact modern media has had on politics on a worldwide basis. We know the issues regarding misinformation, disinformation and abject lies, as well as a lack of control. While we welcome the added powers for Coimisiún na Meán, we will need to see it operate them. We need to see a regulatory framework for social media that will work because we also know that social media companies and big tech have abjectly failed to regulate themselves. We have all seen the disgrace in relation to Grok. As Deputy Byrne said, we could have done with Coimisiún na Meán and the Government acting at an earlier stage, even just to show an interest in the matter and an intent that the creation of child pornography and such would not be facilitated, no matter who was in control of these companies. I remember speaking to a garda at an event years ago. We were talking about the need for road safety and things that needed to be done on a particular road. He said that if An Garda Síochána was dealing with people who had good manners, it would not need half the rules and regulations. Unfortunately, we are not dealing with people who have good manners, but that does not matter. Whether it is in relation to the Irish media market or regulation across the board in the online space, we need rules because we cannot rely on the likes of Elon Musk and whatever particular rant or moment of lunacy he is going through at a particular time. When we talk about truth at this point in time, what does it even mean any more? We have seen the brutal actions by genocidal Israel in Gaza, Lebanon and throughout the wider Middle East. We have also seen the backing that is being provided by Donald Trump. We then have Pete Hegseth telling us that the Strait of Hormuz would be open but for the Iranians. They seem to be firing missiles and causing problems. We also had the beyond scandalous killing of more than 170 schoolchildren when a school was attacked with a Tomahawk missile. I understand that Tomahawk missiles are made in the United States, but we all heard Donald Trump's answer in relation to that. Even Pete Hegseth said that there would need to be an investigation because Donald Trump made out that it might have been the Iranians. That is the world we are in. We need to make sure that we can control whatever piece we can and feed into the European Union, including the European Commission, so that we have some element of a framework. That framework is about the media and the huge impact and footprint it can have. We cannot leave that in the hands of a very small number of people. It would work if we were dealing with really sound people who had really good manners, but, unfortunately, that is not what we are dealing with in the world at this point in time. As Deputy Byrne said, all parties across the House will need to work together to ensure that we get the best system we can. It goes without saying that we need to ensure that the gaps we saw during the Grok situation are addressed by whatever legislation is required and that we address whatever weaknesses there are, be that through our online safety Bill or the Digital Services Act at a European level. We all welcome the necessity of artificial intelligence in relation to healthcare, innovation and so on, and we all understand the wonderful communication means we have at our disposal, but, in real terms, we need to have regulation because we know the abject harm that is being done by social media companies with their recommender algorithms. They keep people in really unhelpful and terrible spheres, for want of a better term. I was nearly going to show my age and say "sites". We have all seen where someone starts looking at one thing on TikTok - which, like every other company, profiles its customers, including their age and where they are from - and then all of sudden it can put them down a rabbit hole that is really dangerous for them. I accept that the regular media has certain controls and protections for people. It cannot publish what it wants and any lunatic cannot just start spouting. We even have an occasional bit of lunacy in this House. It happens occasionally and I want it to be called out when it happens.

Sentiment score: 0.03

Of course not. I can see the Minister of State is taking notes on all of the gems I am offering up. This is the world we live in. It is important that we make sure that we put in the supports and checks. What has happened to date across the world is frightening. What could happen in the future with the tools that are in the hands of big tech and media moguls scares the life out of me. Some of this is what has facilitated the likes of Donald Trump to make his way into the White House. Like other instances, it also shows the failure of many others in politics. We need to ensure that it cannot happen here. Our job as the Opposition is to hold the Government to account, but it is necessary that any legislation relating to the media that comes from the Government holds the media to account, and then the media in turn holds all of us to account. That is only fair and proper. I have no doubt that, if there is co-operation across the board, we will all look to find the framework that will work from the point of view of ensuring that we not allow a very small amount of people to gain too much of a foothold in the media, control the message and possibly undermine democracy. We need to ensure that those protections are introduced because there are far too many damaging aspects in the world at the minute that are impacting on democracy. We need to make sure that we do not allow this to continue. Everyone will be pleased to hear that I am about to end.

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Not quite. This is usually when I ask for some element of flexibility. Given the day that is in it and the fact that I am here with Deputy Byrne, I once again offer my solidarity to her. What Trivela has done as the owner of Drogheda United is an absolute disgrace. I am glad that she is doing what she always does, which is fighting her corner.

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I accept that. I will finish on this, and I will say it very quickly as well. As I am protecting a Louth TD, I also offer my solidarity to Gerry Adams as he defends the republican struggle.

Sentiment score: 0.23

That is it.

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