Ronan O'Domhnaill
UNSURPRISINGLY, THERE has been little or no media coverage of the pay-outs to media organisations recently from the Government or, rather, the taxpayers’ largely unknowing munificence so generously enabled by the Government. Sums amounting to €5.7m have been dished out to a struggling media across the state under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme and Courts Reporting Scheme, sanctioned and distributed by Coimisiún na Meán, the state’s media regulator.
Thus ‘local’ newspapers such as the Mediahuis-owned Herald got €105,720 (local democracy in Dublin) and another €12,238 (courts), while the Irish Times DAC-owned Echo received €62,143 (local democracy in Cork) and €15, 363 (local democracy ancillary scheme in Cork).
The Irish Times-owned Irish Examiner received two tranches, amounting to €37,058, for ancillary courts reporting and a third tranche of €15, 226 for ancillary local democracy reporting, the three of them in the Examiner’s Cork area.
When it came to regional titles, Mediahuis took full advantage (someone should perhaps explain to the Belgians the meaning of the Irish colloquialism ‘tearing the arse out of it’) and took no less than 11 nice little earners out of its spread of titles from Wexford to Sligo and back down to Tipperary and Kerry in the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. The struggling (?) Belgian multinational, Mediahuis, took €629,913 from the state for these opportune and most welcome ‘democracy’ assisting fundraisers alone.
Combined with the Government grant aid for the rest of its coverage of courts and local democracy, Mediahuis titles took a total of €1,150,612 from the first tranche of Coimisiún na Meán’s scheme to facilitate reportage on local matters.
Is there not something a little peculiar about a multinational such as Mediahuis, based largely in Belgium and other EU countries, taking well over a €1m in Irish state aid when its latest results show turnover of €1.236bn in 2024 and a profit of €151m?
The Irish times DAC was not far behind – its total take from this perfectly legal media slush fund was €1,039565. This is almost half its pre-tax profits of €2.1m in 2023, the last financial year reported, and would have been most welcome in the Tara Street boardroom.
Hopefully neither of these companies will encourage any of their outlets to publish irresponsible or populist material damaging to a Government that is being so helpful to the media in its hour of need.
Statements from the commission on the philosophy driving these handouts are bathed in the highest rhetorical phrases. Media development commissioner Rónán Ó Domhnaill said the schemes will sustain “Ireland’s vibrant democracy by informing and engaging citizens on issues of importance to them”. He also said the moolah would create “over 100 new or enhanced journalist roles” – the precise wording here is important.
Ó Domhnaill also said there was a high demand for these schemes. I’ll bet.
