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    No longer Timorous. By Joe Murray.

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    The small tropical island of Timor Leste (East Timor) grows coffee like you’ve never tasted before! Cultivated under the shade of massive rainforest trees, free from pesticides and chemical fertilisers, its taste is rare and creamy. It is one of Timor’s main exports, bringing critical revenue into the first independent nation of the 21st century. It was not coffee, however, but rather the courageous resistance of the people of this tiny country to colonialism and occupation that attracted recent interest in Timor, though it was its abundance of sandalwood that first drew European traders and colonialists to the island in the 16th century. East Timor was brought to the attention of many Irish people in the 1990s by the inspirational work of former bus-driver Tom Hyland from Ballyfermot who saw a TV programme showing the brutal murder of 270 unarmed citizens by occupying Indonesian forces in the Santa Cruz massacre in the capital Dili, but had the unusual fibre to respond by forming the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign (ETISC). I was privileged to go to Timor last month to accept a Presidential medal, the highest honour that can be bestowed by the State, on behalf of ETISC. Oran Doyle accepted a similar medal on behalf of Sean Steele, a long time campaigner who unfortunately was unable to travel for health reasons. When talking to the people of Timor, one is constantly reminded of the territory’s turbulent history; colonised by Portugal; losing around sixty thousand of its citizens when occupied by Japan during the Second World War; re-colonised by Portugal following the end of World War 2. Civil War followed Portuguese withdrawal in 1974 and a unilateral declaration of independence was made in November 1975. But Timor’s darkest period came later when, with the support of the US, Indonesia invaded Timor in December 1975 and an estimated 190,000 people (one quarter of the population) were eventually killed. Determined resistance by the people of Timor, together with international solidarity, forced the Indonesians to accede to a referendum in 1999 in which the people voted overwhelmingly for independence. I visited it as part of an international human rights delegation in 1999 and found a population scarred by violence and repression but purposeful in preparation for a new era free from occupation and terror. There have been bumps along the road of independence with occasional unrest and serious violence in 2006; and problems remain, including high unemployment and a failure to spread the benefits of oil revenue outside the capital Dili. But today the country effectively has a government of national unity which is trying to tackle some of the most urgent problems facing this fledgling democracy. On a previous visit in 1999, I also visited the man who was seen as the leader of the resistance – the Nelson Mandela of Timor – Xanana Gusmaó in prison in Jakarta. Soon after that he was released and went on to become the first President of independent Timor Leste. During this visit I met Gusmaó, now an elder statesman, still hugely influential but handing over power to a younger generation of Timorese. The current dominant issue in Timor Leste is the island’s relationships with its large and powerful neighbours, Australia and Indonesia. Timor’s decision not to pursue Indonesia for the crimes it committed during the occupation, while it may be ‘pragmatic’, is understandably unpopular, especially among some human rights groups. Australia, on the other hand, is being challenged by the Timorese Government about the ‘dirty deal’ which was agreed by Indonesia and Australia in 1989, giving the vast oil resources in the Timor gap to Australia. Having stood by Australia during World War 2 and paid a high price, the Timorese now want Australia to respect their sovereignty and agree to a maritime boundary determination; as well as to cede a greater return on the lucrative Greater Sunrise oil and gas fields. This is perhaps an incongruent focus in the context of climate change but, when I raised this issue in a meeting with the Prime Minister and his officials, I was informed that this is as much about sovereignty over land, air and sea as it is about fossil fuels. I was assured that the government is well aware of the need to develop strong policies on renewable energy and is already engaged in doing so. Timor Leste faces many challenges. Issues of inequality need to be tackled, development is too centralised in Dili, the military and police take a too aggressive approach to citizens – in fact, Timor has recently been reprimanded by Amnesty International for “excessive use of force by security forces”. But it is important to keep in mind the strides it has made after only thirteen years of independence and to recall the difficulties involved in building a nation. • Joe Murray is the Coordinator of Afri – Action From Ireland. @AfriPeace; www.afri.ie.

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    Capitalist Europe dies. By Ronan Burtenshaw.

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      In late September 2009 I was walking through Dublin as the city prepared for the rerun of the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Outside Dublin Castle I ran into canvassers from Generation Yes, a young, liberal, pro-Europe group established early that year to campaign for the passage of the treaty. Drawing them into conversation you could feel the passion of their arguments. They were the Erasmus generation – students and graduates who saw the European Union as an engine of progress for Ireland and a liberator that had broken us from our bleak, parochial past. Rather than the ‘Yes for Jobs’ vacuities many of the main political parties ran with in the campaign, Generation Yes spoke to direct experience living and working in Europe, or for European businesses in Ireland. Many of its best advocates came from the tech sector and saw the EU as a vanguard project of a globalising world, breaking down borders, encouraging innovation and providing opportunity. Generation Yes played a crucial role in the landslide victory of 2009. More clearly than any other organisation involved they developed an identity for the Yes camp. The European Union represented a young, modern, idealistic cosmopolitanism. The No camp, as I remember now-Senator John Crown saying on my local radio station, were the past: “Trotskyite communists and right-wing zealots”. So, Lisbon II passed, Ireland’s political elite celebrated, and Generation Yes disappeared. But less than a year later the European Union, so long considered a benevolent actor in Irish politics, imposing human rights with a pat on the head from the continent, came to wear a quite different mask. 2010 brought the Troika. Just five years after its arrival on the scene, the creditors’ union of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund has come to dominate the popular imagination of the European Union. For the peripheral states which they made home, their policies have inextricably linked the project of European integration to falling living standards, crumbling welfare states and debt servitude. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that a Generation Yes for 2015 is almost impossible to imagine. A group of the same name might intervene in a referendum, it might even attempt to use a similar message, but it would have to reckon with the fact that the sickly-sweet vision of Europe it once sold has been indissolubly mixed with the bitterness of austerity. It would also have to reckon with a rival identity. Not the eurosceptic Right, an opponent it had always comfortably beaten. But, since 2011, the indignados and Europe’s movement of the squares, a rival, pro-European movement which was highly critical of the Troika and the increasingly undemocratic apparatus of the European Union. Last Sunday, in Greece, this movement was given a name: Generation No. The vote in Greece was striking in its breakdown. The typical No voter in the overwhelming rejection of the Troika’s ultimatum was young, working-class and held left-wing views. The number for ‘Oxi’ under 25 was 85%, under 35 was 78%. In many ways this mirrors the voting base of Podemos in Spain. The price of building up the reputation of the European Union as an arena of opportunity for Europe’s periphery has been the weight of frustrated expectations when this turned out not to be the case. As a result, in most of these states, it isn’t Generation Yes which represents the future but Generation No. This shift in orientation towards the European project is not down to a turn against Europeanism. In fact, the Greek No vote enjoyed enormous support from across the continent, clearly registered in marches, direct actions, and statements from social movements, trade unions, NGOs, academics and intellectuals. Instead what has happened is that the European Union has been stripped back to its essence as a neoliberal economic project. Gone are the pretences of common culture or social fabric – the Greek crisis has demonstrated that bonds of solidarity stretch only as far as is profitable. In truth the European Union was a market-oriented project from its inception. Despite the ‘social Europe’ myth he helped created, Jacques Delors’ success at seducing Europe’s social democrats in the 1980s only served to trap them. First into the 1988 directive mandating extensive free movement of capital and then, in 1992, into the Maastricht Treaty. These arrangements provided the foundation for the euro – a currency which was to drive the stake of neoliberalism even further into the European Union. The money in our pockets is the most monetarist currency ever designed. No mandate for the ECB to deal with unemployment. No lender of last resort. No framework for debt mutualisation. It was also forged in class warfare. On its inception wages and conditions in Germany were forced down to create optimal conditions for its export industry. To deal with its first crisis the same has been done to workers in peripheral Europe. Contrary to what we hear in the media, the cause of this crisis was not profligacy in countries like Greece or Spain. It was twofold – a failure in the international financial system and a failure in European capitalism. In the former Germany banks took on huge exposure to states like Greece by investing in high-yield bonds. For the business class this meant the availability of credit for Greek consumers – a boon for exporters to Greece. There was also the benefit of a heap of profit from financialising the peripheral economies. In Greece, it led to falling bond prices, cheaper credit and a bubble. Between 1998 and 2007, Greece had the second highest growth rate in Europe. During roughly the same period Greece’s bond yields fell from over 15 per cent to 3 per cent. There’s an almost direct correlation. This development was not led by demand from Greece but supply from Germany. In many ways the German business class was the sub-prime mortgage lender of the European financial system. But it has been workers in peripheral European states who paid the

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    Just for show

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    By Michael Smith Climate change is the biggest issue of our age. It seems likely to leave a legacy for future generations that will mean our epoch will be remembered primarily for its stupidity and spendthrift environmental profligacy. The long-heralded Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015 may or may not be adopted before the summer recess. The Bill purports to establish how our transition towards a low-carbon economy will be achieved. While there are no explicit targets set out, the Bill obliges the State to “take into account any existing obligation of the State under the law of the European Union or any international agreement”. This compares with the 2008 British Act which provides for an 80% reduction by 2050. Regrettably overall the Climate Bill remains like a washout – of non-binding ‘commitments’, legislation that has none of the characteristics of legislation. In essence it provides that government shall endeavour to achieve the national climate objectives’. A 2013 draft (and the British legislation) notably said ‘The Taoiseach (and the British Environment Minister) has the duty to ensure’ objectives. The nub of the matter is that if the Taoiseach (or Environment Minister) has a duty to ensure particular percentage reductions every year (say) then individuals and worthy groups can probably sue the Taoiseach (or Environment Minister) for failures, possibly even injuncting her. Clear, aggressive targets, and teeth are basically all that this Bill required and the failure to provide teeth or new targets makes it useless. Agriculture, energy-supply and development interests know exactly what “shall endeavour”, “shall have regard to” etc mean in the context: nothing. In passing it is worth pausing to note that the Greens’ bill, about which much was made in the dying days of the 2007-11 coalition, was not much better. As to the targets themselves in effect the Bill formally obliges, or rather reiterates the obligation, of the State to adhere to EU targets such as a 20 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020 over 1995 (or is it 2005) levels. The legislation will offer formal recognition to Government policy on climate change, without specifying its carbon reduction target of 80 per cent by 2050, based on 1990 figures. The sole useful concession made during passage of the bill has been the formal incorporation of specific, minimum, national targets governing emissions reduction between now and 2050. Nevertheless ‘National’ ie vested interests especially agriculture and transport promoted by the IFA and IBEC will not be derailed by this government or any likely replacement or by any likely Act. The Department of Agriculture estimates that emissions from the beef and dairy sector will increase by about one-third by 2020. Irish farmers are efficient, low-carbon producers and milk output has already surged by about 16 per cent this year. Should production be increased – without carbon reductions elsewhere – if it adds to misery and dislocation in poor countries? No Irish Government has ever specified how the overall 2020 EU-led target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% on 2005 levels is to be shared – i.e., what each sector must do to meet the required total reduction. Therefore we can only assume that each sector has the same 20% target as the National target. Ireland is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 to a level 20% lower than in 2005 in the buildings, transport and agriculture sectors combined. This is the so-called ‘non-ETS’ group of sectors that makes up the national emissions that are not traded within in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Agriculture comprises over 44% of Ireland’s non-ETS sector and transport 26%. In that light, it is shocking that the Departments of Transport and Agriculture in particular, appear to be already preparing to renege on such targets.  Rather than the 20% reduction, transport is set to achieve nothing at all. Agriculture is set for only a 4% cut, which has been further reinforced by the publication of “Food Wise 2025”, a new “10-year vision for the Irish Agri-food industry”. Despite an entire chapter dedicated to “sustainability”, there is still no concrete sectoral commitment to absolute emissions reduction of any level – the spin is on reducing the emissions per unit of beef. And almost no-one in the environmental sector wants to tell the truth that, worldwide, people are going to have to get used to eating less beef because its production is necessarily environmentally profligate. The Bill provides that there will be a National Mitigation Plan (to lower greenhouse-gas emissions) and a National Adaptation Framework (to deal with the changes that climate change will bring). Following amendments, the timeframe for production of a National Mitigation Plan will be reduced to 18 months. Based on EPA calculations, however, the State will have exceeded its 2020 emission targets by the time that plan is made public. It will also have become liable to heavy EU fines. These two plans will be renewed every five years, They will embrace tailored sectoral plans for all government departments. So-called concessions, following criticism from environmental NGOs and Opposition parties in the Dáil, have inevitably been ‘welcomed” by the likes of Stop Climate Chaos, an umbrella group that specialises in welcoming governmental climate measures, even weak ones, and then applying a caveat, rather than deploring where appropriate – and applying a qualifier for anything positive. An assessment of the Bill by Client Earth, a London-based organisation of activist environmental lawyers, whose terms of reference were amateurishly constructed by Stop Climate Chaos, concluded that the lack of a 2050 target for reducing emissions produces “critical uncertainty” for investors. It also finds the membership of the Expert Advisory Council undermines its independence and concludes that unless the Bill is revised at Committee Stage in the Dáil, the Bill will “do little to help Ireland meet its international commitments or move the economy onto a less polluting pathway”. Nowhere does the assessment refer to the failure to make the bill justiciable, ie actionable by third parties such as environmentalists.

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    Extinction again

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    By Ken Phelan It seems, environmentally, that we have finally reached the nadir of life. Whereas 65m years ago it was probably an asteroid that threatened all life on Earth, now it is life itself – in the shape of humans. Scientists at a number of north American universities recently produced a report stating that planet Earth is at the beginning of the ʻSixth Great Mass Extinctionʼ. The report, published in Science Advances, shows that mankind has been central to current extinction rates. Scientists at Stanford University claim that in terms of extinctions, we have recently seen the biggest loss of species since the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction which wiped out the dinosaurs 65m years ago. Co-author of the report, Dr Gerardo Ceballos asserts that should current extinction-levels continue, life on Earth would take millions of years to recover, with our own species likely disappearing early on. Humans, led by our generation, could generate an event to rival the one that killed the dinosaurs, in as little as 250 years. While natural population changes in the wild usually lead to two species of mammals dying out every 10,000 years, the current rate is up to 114 times that level. Since 1500, 77 species of mammals, 140 types of bird and 34 types of amphibian have disappeared. There has been a notable increase in extinctions since the onset of the industrial revolution; to compound the problem, many more species have suffered diminished populations, leaving some species as good as extinct. Sixty-nine mammal species are believed to have become extinct since 1900, along with about 400 other types of vertebrates. Indeed 468 more vertebrates have died out since 1900 than should have. Habitat loss, pollution and climate change have all combined to produce a toxic ecological mix that man alone has created. Creatures such as the dodo, the Caspian tiger, the Falkland Islands wolf and the Cape lion have all become extinct since 1500. From elephant hunts for ivory tusks to illegal whaling, man has driven extinction, while species have been further pushed to the brink of extinction by shrinking natural habitats. Some of the most endangered species now include: the South China tiger; the Sumatran elephant; the Amur leopard; the Gulf Porpoise; the Black Rhinoceros and the Chinese Pangolin. So what is a mass extinction? A mass extinction is when vast numbers of species die out at the same time or within a short period of time. It gives context to look at the previous five great extinctions: The Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction of 443m years ago saw 83% of sea life wiped out; 90 million years later, the Late Devonian mass extinction left three quarters of life on Earth extinct; the so-called ʻGreat Dyingʼ or Permian mass extinction of 248m years ago left 96% of all species extinct; 48m years later half of Earth’s species were wiped out by climate change and asteroid impacts; 65m years ago marked the end of the dinosaurs under the Cretaceous-Tertiary event, caused by a 10km-wide asteroid impact. Pope Francis expressed concern over the issue in his recently released encyclical letter on the environment. The title ‘Laudato Si”’ or ‘Praised Be’ warned of the danger of climate change. He acknowledges that: “If present trends continue, this century may well witness extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us”. The pope called for an ecological conversion and he urged readers to think of the kind of world they want to leave to future generations. What were the odds that we should find ourselves the only generation of the only species in the history of life on our 4.5bn year-old Earth, apparently the only one ever to host life, that has both threatened life as it is known, especially its own, and perhaps has the capacity to save it? The culpability and the burden are great. •

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    Bus-ting myths

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    By Anne Graham The National Transportation Authority was unhappy with the assertion in a recent article in Village (Labour’s Weapon , May 2015, by Michael Smith), that: “… Dublin Bus continues to buy polluting vehicles rather than the best available emission-efficient standard”. On behalf of the National Transport Authority, which now purchases all vehicles for Ireland’s state-subsidised (Public Service Obligation) services, including all Dublin Bus vehicles, I can confirm that all new vehicles purchased by Dublin Bus meet the current stringent standards with regard to emissions, currently Euro 6 Standard. See Table 1 for a detailed display of data relating to these standards. Dublin Bus is committed to reducing its energy emissions (and hence CO2 emissions) as required by the Government’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan. Significant progress has already been achieved to date through the reorganisation of bus routes, through the Network Direct programme and reductions in vehicle fuel consumption. Further improvements are planned through continued investment in fleet upgrade, supported by the National Transport Authority, replacing older higher-emissions vehicles, and also by extending eco-driving techniques. In relation to the fleet-replacement programme supported by the Authority, diesel-engine emissions have declined significantly in recent years due to the introduction of new EU standards limiting the emission levels of various pollutants. These include Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbons (HC), Nitrous Oxides (NOx) and Particulates (PM). These directives are summarised 9n Table 1 below. The Directives are not retroactive and vehicles built before the relevant dates are not required to meet later Directives. Only the latest vehicles, Euro 6, are fitted with Diesel particulate filters. Emissions from the bus fleet will continue to improve as older vehicles are replaced with new vehicles to the latest standard; therefore, the Dublin Bus fleet replacement programme is a fundamental part of Dublin Bus’s emission-reduction strategy. This year the National Transport Authority is grant-funding Dublin Bus to purchase a further ninety Euro 6 double-decker buses. These will replace older Euro 2 and Euro 3 vehicles. As can be seen from the table above, this will result in a significant reduction in overall emission levels from the Dublin Bus fleet, with a lowering in PM of 93% and 90% respectively. You can see the huge improvements that have been made in recent years, and that will continue to be made into the future.  We are happy that you are agreeable to correcting the impression given in your recent article, so that your readers are now better informed on the matter. • Anne Graham is chief Executive Officer of the National Transport Authority   Michael Smith replies The reference in the article was to the diesel-hybrid electric buses used since 2007 in London and many other cities. Hybrid electric buses emit about a third less pollutants and a third less fuel than the most recently-manufactured buses with diesel-only engines (Euro 6). Comparing climate-change pollutants, for instance, hybrids emit 30% lower emissions than Euro 6 diesel-only buses. Moreover, a key advantage of hybrids is that they can switch off their diesel engines in favour of their electric motors when journeying through populous and sensitive parts of the urban environment – with no local pollution whatsoever. This clearly benefits cyclists, pedestrians and residents. London currently has 1,200 hybrids (more than the entire Dublin Bus fleet) and plans to have 1,700 by 2016, at which point hybrids will make up 20% of its fleet. Dublin does not currently operate any hybrids, and unless action is taken, Dublin will slip further behind. The 97% figure cited in the headline refers to new buses of course. And to particulates.  No reference is made to CO2 emissions. I understand that buying a small number of hybrid electric buses as a trial basis was recently considered for Dublin but that this option has not yet been adopted. It would be welcome .

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    RTÉ refuses Village O’ Brien ad

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    Correspondence between Village‘s editor and RTÉ’s ad-clearance Department   Editor <editor@villagemagazine.ie> 5 Jun to Hi I hope all is  well with you. Can we please get this running as soon as possible on Radio 1 (I presume is ok!) and what slots are available? Village magazine, the only Irish-owned journal to publish  Catherine Murphy’s Dail  Statement despite the legal threat, looks at how the media betrayed democracy  and free speech by  folding early to Denis O’Brien.  In  our June issue: Constantin Gurdgiev, Frank Connolly, Mannix Flynn. Referendum post-mortem. Hymn to Broadsheet.ie. RHA’s annual exhibition. VILLAGE IN NEWSAGENTS NOW. Kind regards, Michael From: adclearance Sent: 08 June 2015 13:14 To: Cc: adclearance Subject: Decision Reached: [72545] : Village Magazine Importance: High Hi The Clearance Committee have asked for backup to support the claim; Village magazine, the only Irish-owned journal to publish  Catherine Murphy’s Dail  Statement despite the legal threat, looks at how the media betrayed democracy  and free speech by  folding early to Denis O’Brien. Please ask your client to supply backup to support the claim. Regards,     Editor <editor@villagemagazine.ie> 8 June to Hi The above shows we were publishing Murphy’s comments made on 28th May while there was a legal threat (to Broadsheet from Frys solicitors for Denis O’Brien but also from the first judgment of Binchy in the High Court). The IT, RTE and the Journal all took the comments down or did not publish them. The SBP, the Mail and the Indo Group did not publish them until after the court case. The Sunday Times, the Guardian, the NYT and we alone among print publications  published them while there was a legal threat but the others are foreign owned. Broadsheet is not a journal. Let me know if you need more.  Rgds,  Michael adclearance <adclearance@rte.ie> 9 Jun to me Hi Michael The Clearance Committee re-reviewed the attached script in their clearance meeting this morning and would accept the claim on the basis the wording is amended to ‘Village magazine, the only Irish-owned print media to publish Catherine Murphy…..’ so the claim is more accurate. Please send over the amended script for final approval. Kind Regards, From: Editor [mailto:editor@villagemagazine.ie] Sent: 09 June 2015 11:15 To: adclearance Subject: Re: Decision Reached: [72545] : Village Magazine Hi Fiona. Thanks for that. That would not be grammatical. Village is not a media but a medium. No one will know what a print medium is. Hence I said journal which is defined as a magazine or newspaper. What do you think? Rgds. Michael 10 Jun to me Hi Michael, Thank you for your email. We understand that you are more directly informed regarding the publication of details of the case before the high court we are however concerned that the substance of your ad ‘at how the media betrayed democracy and free speech by folding early to Denis O’Brien’ is not a true reflection of the events. There was in place a high court injunction which prevented some media from publishing details and other media were unclear if they also were affected by that injunction. As soon as the court clarified the situation all the media involved published details. Your copy attached would need to be amended to reflect the reality of the situation. Kind Regards,   Editor <editor@villagemagazine.ie> 10 Jun to Hi This new angle is a shifting of goalposts away from the issue of what a journal is. In any event it is legally, factually, actually, substantively (any word you want to use) inaccurate to say “there was in place a high court injunction which prevented some media from publishing details and other media were unclear”.  The judge stated his order “was not intended, and could not have been intended to” affect proceedings in the Dail.  If you check Village’s twitter you will see that we predicted he would say this. The whole point is that most of the other media ludicrously and predictedly misinterpreted the order – choosing to regard themselves as prevented.  Village a) did not; b) stated the others were wrong to; and c) uniquely among Irish-owned journals published! Conveying this is the purpose of the ad. The issue relates to democracy and free speech and is not a small one. The inaccuracy in your premise makes it impossible for me to address the inferences you draw from that inaccuracy! Regards. Michael adclearance Attachments adclearance 11 Jun to me Hi Michael The Committee remain of their decision that Village Magazine were not the only Irish-owned journal to publish the statement nor does the content tell a true reflection of the events that transpired. It was reasonable, if cautious, for the media to hold off for clarity from the judge and it is our view that the wording used ‘the media betrayed democracy and free speech by folding early to Denis O’Brien’ is not a true reflection of the events. The attached script will need to be amended. Please resubmit the amended copy to us for approval. Kind Regards, Hi .  Here are three random dictionaries which suggest a journal is a newspaper or magazine.  There is no evidence, less still have ad-clearance given me any evidence, that the definition of journal extends to an online publication.  If you do not feel you are obliged to address the issue in a logical way, and if it is RTE’s official position that unsubstantiated comments (adclearance’s) are as good as  substantiated ones (mine) I guess there is no point in continuing the discussion. What do you think?  Rgds.  Michael adclearance 15 Jun to me Hi Michael The Committee would agree in there is no point in continuing the discussion as clearly there are disagreements regarding the current wording and unless it is amended the commercial will not be approved for broadcast on RTÉ Radio. I will close this submission. Regards, *Correspondence edited for length

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    Sophisticated but will not pay

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    By Gerard Cunningham The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2015 for Ireland gives an effective overview of who learns what where, here. The report describes Ireland as “a broadly engaged audience who are digitally immersed but with a substantial allegiance to traditional sources.” The report is produced in association with Dublin City University’s Institute for Future Journalism and Media (FuJo) and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). In a foreword, BAI chief executive Michael O’Keeffe hopes that the reports will “track key trends and identify data points that will assist the BAI in its deliberations”, something that should come in handy for the authority’s newly announced role in refereeing media mergers. Ireland is not particularly special when it comes to media consumption compared to the other 12 country Reuters studies, though we are more reluctant than average to pay for news, and more than usually likely to read foreign news. The Irish have also – so far at least – been less willing than other English-speaking audiences to abandon print, although even in Ireland circulation numbers are falling. The survey, based on a sample of 1501 adults who get news once a month or more, was conduced online in Ireland by ResearchNow, the Irish research partner of YouGov. The overall margin of error rate is 2.5%. The primary news source is online media, at 83%, with TV coming second at 76%. Radio (50%) and Print (49%) bring up the rear. It is notable that while radio and print come last, both are above average compared to international trends. The survey also reveals a glaring generation gap. Put bluntly, TV is for old people, while under-24s are abandoning it in favour of online sources. The contrast could not be more stark for RTÉ: 77% of over-55s got news from TV or radio in the past week, while the equivalent figure for 18-24 year olds is just 34%. At the same time, 21% of 18-24s checked the RTE.ie website, compared to only 0.5% of over-55s. As this is the first time that Ireland has been included in the Reuters report, it provides a baseline for future comparison, but no Irish trends are apparent yet. However, internationally, broadcast news is in decline, with print and broadcast news merging online. The survey took place in January-February, before the Irish Times introduced its paywall, so future surveys will also show the full effect that had on audience figures. Essentially, while viewers will still check in with TV and radio broadcasts at fixed hours, they are becoming more and more likely to get news, whether audio, video, or text, by phone. What’s true of entertainment, through services like Netflix, is equally true of news. TV is seen as the most accurate/reliable (37%) and trustworthy (38%) news source, but a majority (53%) believe that the best sources of analysis and comment are available online. This may reflect the wider range of opinions available in specialist blogs and news websites, the limited number of columnists in print, or a combination of both. Unsurprisingly, online is also seen as the best place for updates on breaking news. Online, just under three quarters (74%) of the population use a computer to obtain news, and the halfway tipping point has been reached on mobile, with 52% using it to check news. The generation gap is again visible here: smartphone users are younger; computer users are older. Among over-55s, 72% have used a computer to access news, but only 17% a  smartphone. Gender analysis show a strong male preference for sports (52% of men, 15% of women) but it may be worth asking whether this is a chicken and egg situation. Most sports stories are about men’s sports, which may influence the audience it attracts. During June, the soccer columns were full of transfer rumours, for example, while the women’s World Cup was almost ignored. It may also be notable that while men read more about sports, only 17% said they were interested in health stories, compared to 42% of women. Some survey answers are difficult to accept at face value. The Irish claim to care deeply about international (64%) and national (59%) news stories, but not that much for celebrity (21%) or fun/weird “offbeat” news (18%): figures any journalist aware of what stories are most read and shared will question. This could be due to the nature of the online survey – those who answer are self-selecting, and may have a higher than average interest in news, or they may be giving an answer which reflects better on themselves. Another question, on what makes a story get read, provides an interesting contrast. Most (58%) said they “click on headlines that are most interesting to me”, contrasted with 32% who declared the basis was trust in the news site and 8% based on trust in the person sharing the story. This is the reverse of what is seen internationally, where trust is more highly rated. It may reflect deep cultural issues with trust in media, or a refreshing honesty about the effectiveness of clickbaiting headlines. The Irish certainly have trust issues. Only 46% trust the news in general, and 30% said they don’t trust most news. However 57% said they trust their chosen sources of news. Traditional news was seen as more accurate, reliable and trusted than online news in general, and TV news is seen to be more accurate than either print or online news, which will please RTÉ. Trust increases with age, education and income. Age makes a difference once again when it comes to preferred online news sources. The users of the traditional news brands – RTÉ, the Irish Independent, and the Irish Times – are much older than those for TheJournal.ie, which dominates among younger readers in the 18-24 and 25-34 age cohorts. RTÉ dominates the overall market. 58% watch TV news, and 33% listen to radio news. RTÉ radio and TV combined reach 65%. Online, RTÉ web offerings reach 31% of the potential audience. The Independent

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    Never read the comments

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    By Gerard Cunningham It’s one of the first pieces of advice journalists share about their online work, and perhaps an adage that someone ought to have passed to Labour senator Lorraine Higgins. Higgins is the sponsor of one of two private members bills before the Oireachtas at the moment, each seeking to deal with “cyberbullying” and related issues. They raise questions about free speech in Ireland. In Higgins’ case, among other things, the Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill would introduce penalties of up to twelve months in jail or a €5,000 fine for “harmful” or “malicious” communications. The extent of its ambition is clearest in section 5, which provides that a court may demand that an individual apologise and delete a message on the internet even when a person had been found not guilty of any offence. Higgins has made cyberbullying her cause since the European elections in 2014, in which she was a candidate in the Ireland North constituency, when she received several messages on her campaign Facebook page. During the election, she tweeted a mockup of a Luke Ming Flanagan poster with Dustin the Turkey superimposed on Flanagan’s head, and the slogan “Don’t send another turkey to Europe”. (The poster has since been pointed to by some on twitter, accusing her of hypocrisy in her cyber-cleanup campaign.) Three weeks after the Ming the Turkey episode, Higgins made the news again when she told reporters she had reported death threats, to Gardai who had carried out a security sweep of her home. Newspaper reports at the time refer to three specific threats which were forwarded to Gardai. Despite several internet searches, only one of the three could be located for this article. The Facebook message, an outpouring of vulgar abuse, begins by addressing the senator as a “POXY traitorous two faced money grabbing bimbo bitch”, and moves on from there. Concluding with a (repeated) threat to “rip off your head and shove it up your hole”. It cannot have been an easy message to read, and given the nature of political campaigns and the depths to which online debates can sometimes sink, it was far from unique, but it is difficult to see that it makes up a credible threat. It’s vulgar abuse and an incoherent rant, not a plan of action. In an interview with Sean O’Rourke last year, Higgins outlined the contents of some of the other messages, including comments that she “should have been aborted”. She also revealed that she “had an individual who was attempting to blackmail me, but wouldn’t identify what he was attempting to blackmail me about”. (Clearly, we’re not dealing with Professor Moriarty here.) Higgins’ bill does make one useful proposal. In a blog, Fregal Crehan, a barrister who also runs The Hit Team, a business which helps individuals to “remove sensitive and private material from the internet”, notes the provision relating to “revenge porn”, where the law is currently lacking, though noting a data protection/privacy approach might be more effective than criminal sanctions. The free speech risks were highlighted by senator John Crown, who said the bill could be used to silence Mairia Cahill. Higgins response, that she would be exempt because she had “lawful excuse”, raised the eternal question, who gets to decide which speech is lawful, once some speech is deemed beyond the Pale. Free speech concerns led to the #KillTheBill hashtag on Twitter, although tweets also noted that the bill seemed unlikely to succeed in becoming law, given justice minister’s Frances Fitzgerald’s comments during the second stage debate that it “has the potential to be very dangerous”. The Seanad debate on the bill was preceded by news reports that a ‘troll’ had written to apologise to the senator. The letter was reproduced in at least one national newspaper. The writer states that at the time he was “unemployed, stressed, and deeply unhappy”, expresses his sorrow several times, and wishes the senator all the best in the future. In preparation for this article, an individual on Facebook who appeared to be the author of the letter was identified and contacted, but did not respond to a request for an interview. It is unclear at time of going to press whether Garda inquiries on foot of complaints by Senator Higgins are ongoing, or whether the DPP has reached a decision on prosecutions having received garda files. However it is worth noting either way that Garda officers felt able to launch an inquiry under existing public-order and harassment laws. •

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