More to follow.
More to follow.
Yearly Archives: 2016
Report on the Concentration of Media Ownership; Media ownership report launch, from left: Barrister Caoilfhionn Gallagher, Jonathan Price, KRW Law, Gavin Booth, Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan, in Cliff Townhouse in Dublin; Denis O’Brien
Further to the Report on the Concentration of Media Ownership in Ireland, commissioned by Lynn Boylan, Sinn Féin MEP on behalf on the European United Left/Northern Green Left (GUE/NGL) group of the European Parliament
A statement has been issued this afternoon by James Morrissey, on behalf of Denis O’Brien, in response to the report.
Redacted writes:
The Report on the Concentration of Media Ownership in Ireland makes for very interesting reading.
At the outset it is worth noting that it is self-described as “An Independent Study Commissioned by Lynn Boylan MEP on behalf of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) Group of the European Parliament.”
An “independent study” commissioned by a leading member of Sinn Fein? Hardly.
“The two most important controlling entities in the Irish media landscape are the national State broadcaster, RTE, and an individual businessman, Denis O’Brien” this Report states.
Yet there is no focus on RTE in the context of:
– The largest media entity in Ireland
– The only entity involved in TV, radio and print
– Revenues subsidised by licence fees amounting to €178.9 million
But then this ‘independent study’ was never intended to be a report on the concentration of media ownership in Ireland.
Sinn Féin is very diligent and adept when it comes to pushing its agendas, overtly and covertly.
After a disappointing General Election, An Phoblact [sic] went on the attack:
“State broadcaster came in for severe criticism as it slashed Sinn Fein’s coverage following a poll… which showed the party gaining ground… and for two days the voices of Sinn Fein were banned from the airwaves in a bizarre episode that was reminiscent of Section 31 and state censorship.” (March 7, 2016)
And on the eve of the Budget, Sinn Fein TD, Eoin O’Broin declared:
“Budget Day is all about choices. For decades, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, have looked after the big guy – whether that be Denis O’Brien or Apple.”
I am absolutely convinced that the contribution that Apple has made in this country is unquantifiable in financial and social terms. What about the thousands of young women and men who did not have to emigrate and who got a chance to work, live and raise families in Cork?
I have said that Apple should not be punished for its tax arrangements in Ireland. Sinn Féin’s stance on Apple has been, I believe both anti-enterprise and anti-Irish.
“Sinn Fein has been waiting with some relish for the EU verdict,” wrote Pat Leahy in The Irish Times (August 30, 2016) “and leaped into action: ’Give us back our money’ demanded MEP Matt Carthy. For good measure, Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty also called for a public inquiry into Apple’s tax arrangements.”
This report states that I am chairperson of Communicorp, as has various individuals including Dr. Colum Kenny, Dr. Roderick Flynn and Caoilfhionn Gallagher, legal firms Jonathan Price (Belfast) and KRW Law (London) and media organisations including The Irish Times and TV3.
It maybe [sic] a rather inconvenient truth, but I am not.
I suppose why let the facts interfere with the agenda and the messaging…
Is the media objective when it is talking and writing about itself? The media industry in Ireland is in decline. This decline has been ongoing for many years and it threatens and [sic] industry that has served this country exceptionally well, providing high levels of employment and spawned a number of writers who have deservedly achieved international acclaim.
Independent News & Media (INM) was days from forced closure back 2011.
Over €2 billion in shareholder value had been lost and the shares had collapsed from €27.30 to 41 cents as a previous board had racked up unsustainable levels of debt. I became am [sic] a substantial minority shareholder in INM (I am not on the board).
I am the owner of Communicorp which like RTÉ, TV3, The Irish Examiner and The Sunday Business Post operates in a very challenging environment. I understand The Irish Times is currently considering various funding options.
I believe that some media companies will not survive this decade without radical structuring including substantial funding.
I was surprised, for example, that RTÉ (and others) did not seek any comment from me on the ‘Report on the Concentration of Media Ownership in Ireland’ in the interests of balance and objectivity.
But maybe the powers that be in Montrose felt that they had been given a ‘free pass’ in the report that they chose just to quote from it?
I do not believe the Irish media is objective in relation to matters relating to itself. The prime reason is survival. Every media executive and journalist knows that the future of traditional media is bleak. It makes one entity undermining another easier to justify.
Sinn Féin/IRA certainly got the report they paid for. The cost of this report won’t have have bothered them too much.
They collected €12 million over 20 years in the US (Irish Times, March 7, 2015). The IRA is reported to have €400 million in global assets (Irish Times, August 29, 2015).
Brian Feeney, author, has suggested that a way should be found to stop “Sinn Féin people saying the IRA has gone away when self-evidently it hasn’t.”
The report references the words ‘chilling effect’ and the law in the same sentence. I bow to Sinn Fein’s superior knowledge on these topics.
Maybe instead of commissioning reports Sinn Féin would commit just some of its vast resources and support an ailing industry – become a fully-fledged broadcaster and publisher and create some jobs for a change?
Statement via Joe Leogue
Thud.
Meanwhile…
RTÉ did ask for a response on the report and Denis O’Brien’s advisers chose not to give one yesterday. We’d welcome a correction.
— Kevin Bakhurst (@kevinbakhurst) October 26, 2016
Previously: High Concentration
The return of Limerick’s other finest, Limerick voiceman Walshunit.
In which Limerick Peppa and her friends obtain balloons. Robbery ensues.
He’s big, he’s bad, he’s from Belfast, and the video above is decidedly NSFW.
Damian Mackle, a.k.a. Big Damo, is the latest Irish professional wrestler to sign with American sports-entertainment troupe WWE.
He joins Bray man Fergal Devitt (Finn Balor) and Dubs Stephen Farrelly (Sheamus) & Rebecca Quin (Becky Lynch) on the roster of the former WWF, the world’s largest touring wrestling show, which continues to rake in hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.
He’s just reported to their Performance Centre in Florida to train ahead of his US debut.
Seems like a nice guy, in fairness.
Due North
at
Icelandic airline WOWair is to run from Cork Airport, effective from May of next year, led by a Cork-Reykjavik service at €60 each way.
Sez the blurb:
Iceland’s low-cost airline will operate flights to Iceland, the US and Canada from May 2017.
The new service will operate direct scheduled flights to Reykjavik from Cork Airport four times per week and will allow passengers to connect to major US and Canadian cities including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington DC , Montreal and Toronto.
Good times.
Finn from kids’ Facebook page/video channel Kidspiration spends some time in studio with Peter Gabriel.
D’awwwww.
Any excuse.
Who Did It?
at
Um.
Mic writes:
Spotted on the Kimmage Road Lower just now. I’m a bit baffled. Anyone?
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan in the Dáil, on October 11, delivering his sixth budget speech since 2011
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has delivered six budget speeches since 2011.
On October 14, 2015, in relation to Budget 2016, he said:
“There will be no return to the past where tax incentives for developers drove supply.”
On October 11, 2016, in relation to Budget 2017, he said:
“There is an acute shortage of new houses being built in Ireland and I am introducing a Help to Buy Scheme to address this problem.”
Further to this…
First-Time Buyer writes:
No one would deny that we have a housing and homelessness problem. However despite house prices increase ranging from 20% to 50%, there has been very little increase in output.
So what is the problem?… Land hoarding.
Brendan McDonagh recently told the Housing and Homlessness Committee that since the start of 2014, NAMA has sold land that could provide up to 20,000 units – but just 5% of that has so far been delivered in new homes.
In addition, local councils have zoned enough land to provide for 16 years’ demand but many of these sites are not being developed because owners are holding onto sites in the expectation that prices will rise, allowing them to maximise profits.
Unfortunately, councils have no legal powers to force owners of zoned lands to build, even if planning permission is in place and demand for homes is high.
The 3% annual level on unused development land that was introduced in the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act does not take effect until three years after the land is identified as being suitable for housing and the earliest owners will have to pay is 2019.
Furthermore, the CGT exemption that was brought in 2012/2013 allows people to buy land, hold it for seven years and not pay any tax on its sale. So, rather than selling the land people are sitting there waiting until 2019 before they’ll release it to the market.
Even at an individual level, the Government has ensured that properties are passed from one wealthy generation to the next rather than be placed on the open market.
The Government increased the inheritance tax threshold by 11% to €310,000 and Noonan has refused to close an openly abused loophole which allows parents gifting homes worth €1m or more to their children and avoid tax.
So, rather than address the supply side issues, the Government has decided to introduce a Help To Buy Scheme. This will do nothing to address the supply side constraints and, according to Davy’s economists, will simply push up house prices next year and the following year.
The best part though is that in 2015 the same Government commissioned an ERSI report entitled “Tax Breaks and the Residential Property Market” in which they concluded that “tax breaks aimed at stimulating house and apartment building should be avoided”.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Philip Lane, is one of the many critics of the new Help To Buy Scheme and has said that it will end up serving as a subsidy for builders…
Anyone?
Tonight.
TXFM, occupying the former airwaves of Phantom 105.2, goes off air.
The station was among the few fighting the good fight full-time for new, independent Irish music, staffed by people who actually give a toss about same, our own Nialler9 included, and who we imagine won’t be long going about finding new battlegrounds.
The station goes dark at 8pm.
Cheers, lads.
Previously: Wish Granted
Niamh Puirséil tweetz:
Who lets him stand in front of these things?
Earlier: ‘You Have No Idea Of The Numbers Who Might Wish To Come Forward And Say ‘I Was Sexually Abused”