: The report of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry, which was published in June 1996, made a number of recommendations which concerned the functional responsibilities of a number of Government Departments. In November 1996 the then Minister presented an aide memoire to Government on the recommendations contained in the report. The Government decided that each Minister upon whose area of responsibility the recommendations impacted should revert to Government in relation to any necessary action. As regards my Department, I have referred certain of the recommendations to the group for advice as to how best to implement them into law. This issue forms but one part of the work of the group which has published four discussion papers, including one on this aspect of their terms of reference. When the review group have considered all the comments of interested parties on this and all the other issues they are considering, they will prepare their final report and submit it to me.
One of the recommendations of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry was that an independent Ombudsman to investigate complaints of breaches of press standards be established. The commission was clear that this Ombudsman should be appointed and funded by the newspaper industry. I support the recommendation regarding the establishment of an Ombudsman and I also agree that it is for the newspaper industry to regulate itself in this regard.
