Taoiseach clarifies his controversial 'free press' statement
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said he strongly believes that a free press is important for democracy to function.
Mr. Varadkar said he profoundly regretted if anyone in the country thought he did not support a free press.
His remarks in the Dáil came after media reports of comments he made at a private function in New York yesterday.
It is reported that he said Donald Trump's criticism of the media was one of the few things he could sympathise with the US President about.
It was widely reported that during the private lunch hosted by Irish Consul General Ciarán Madden, Mr Varadkar, said that the media was not interested in the truth but in the story.
He also said that some investigative journalism in Ireland was incorrect and singled RTÉ out for particular criticism.
Speaking in Dáil Éireann today, An Taoiseach said: “I strongly believe that the free press is essential for democracy to function. It is important and essential work and in a free society and a democracy it is as important as the parliamentary or courts system.
"That is why I support and the government supports the work of the news media and I always try to be as accessible and open with the media as I can be. Sometimes there are tensions between the government and media but that is as it should be.
"I read the story in the newspaper today and I profoundly regret if anyone in the country thinks that in any way I do not support a free press or respect the work of journalists.
“A free, fair and balanced media is a cornerstone of democracy and our freedoms and that is why it is so important. At the same time, it should not consider itself to be beyond reproach or above criticism.
"On many occasions in Irish society we have had times where groups of people or institutions felt themselves to be beyond reproach or above criticism and we know the results and consequences of that.
“This was a private event. It was a two-hour lunch. It was done at my request because I wanted to sit down with young Irish people living in New York, to have an exchange of views with them and to hear what their thoughts were on the situation in America and in Ireland. I would like to be able to respect the privacy of that event but that is not possible now. There is no record of it. There was no speech given.
"It was a back and forth conversation involving about 15 or 20 people, covering a whole range of topics from Brexit to the United Nations, Russia and many other things. There was a conversation about social media and fake news and it developed from there.
"I said a lot of positive things about the media internationally and in Ireland in particular I acknowledged the role of investigative journalism in bringing about social change.
"I acknowledged the example of that in the #MeToo movement and the exposure of Harvey Weinstein, and we talked about the role of personal stories as evidenced in the media and how important that was in our last two referendum campaigns on abortion and marriage equality.
“I also said that I thought I got a fair hearing from the media in general, and I do, and I said that because of the proliferation of media outlets and journalists, that journalists were under a lot of pressure to produce stories, much more so than would have been the case in the past when there fewer journalists and news programmes, but of course none of that was reported.
“My only reference to RTÉ was in response to somebody challenging me when I said that investigative journalism was not always true and the only reference I made to RTÉ "Prime Time Investigates" was specifically on the issue of the "Mission to Prey", programme when false allegations against a priest fathering a child in Africa were broadcast and should not have been broadcast. Obviously that has been dealt with since.”
In response, Sinn Fein leader Deputy Mary Lou McDonald said: “That account of events directly contradicts what those who were at the event are reported to have said.
“The report reflects commentary by the Taoiseach in which he accuses the media of trivialising matters, and chasing tittle-tattle rather than being concerned with substantive issues. A direct attack on investigative journalism, on RTÉ investigative journalism in particular, is very clear in the recording.
“The problem is that the Taoiseach is saying one thing, while those who were in attendance say another. Will he tell us how we can fully and finally clarify these matters? The Taoiseach says he is concerned about the health of the media in Ireland.
“In that context, I would have thought the issue of media ownership would have been the obvious, stand-out issue, but the Taoiseach chose not to address it.”