Irish Examiner View: Voice of solidarity has been heard during Zelenskyy visit

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Taoiseach Micheál Martin at a press conference outside Government Buildings. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the joint Houses of the Oireachtas yesterday, a signal honour that puts him in select company. Older readers, for instance, may recall US president John F Kennedy enthralling Leinster House at a similar sitting over 60 years ago.

Yesterday’s address came in a very different context.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Zelenskyy has been targeted by assassins more than once, with one of those assassination attempts, in 2022, resulting in fatalities within the presidential offices in Kyiv.

That is the reality faced by yesterday’s visitor, which made his words all the more piercing.

He paid a glowing tribute to his hosts, saying the Irish and Ukrainians are “among the few in Europe who spent centuries fighting for the right to remain themselves”.

“Thank you for your steadfast support, for these years of standing with us, and thank you for not losing faith in us, just as we do not lose faith in the day that will come when we will welcome all our friends to Ukraine in peace,” he said.

In stating that Ireland has not lost faith in Ukraine, there was an acknowledgement from Zelenskyy that in some places there may be a certain amount of fatigue with a war that has now drifted on for almost four years. It was all the more interesting, then, to hear him attach such importance to Ireland speaking up on behalf of Ukraine.

“We do not feel your voice, the voice of Ireland, is turning quieter,” said Mr Zelenskyy. “Dear Ireland, please remember your voice matters.”

Speaking up — for peace and against injustice, for the downtrodden, and against aggressors — is an obligation we should not shirk. The standing ovation Ukraine’s leader received yesterday in Leinster House is one more expression of a solidarity which cannot be allowed to falter.

Public broadcasting: Funding alone will not lead to improvements

Media minister Patrick O'Donovan.

The whiff of sulphur continues to hang around RTÉ, with the State broadcaster coming off second-best in a recent comparison made by an informed party.

The minister with responsibility for media matters, Patrick O’Donovan, is to bring a memo to Cabinet to inform ministers that the national media supervisory body, Coimisiún na Meán, has now completed its statutory five-year review of funding for RTÉ and TG4.

While the organisation will recommend increases to help both broadcasters meet their public service obligations, there is a sharp difference in how Coimisiún na Meán views them, stating that while TG4 has “adapted effectively with expanded youth and digital services”, RTÉ remains at a critical point.

There is, of course, a wider context to this evaluation. The media watchdog states in its report that Ireland’s public service media faces “severe structural challenges: Declining broadcast audiences, ageing viewership, global competition, and rising digital expectations”.

This is easily verifiable with reference to the changing media habits of young people, the eroding interest in linear television, and the ease with which all media consumers, young and old, can access broadcasting and online content originating far from these shores.

It is surely significant, however, that an organisation as small as TG4 is being held up as a good example of how to pivot to meet such challenges.

The Government will fund the Irish-language broadcaster to the tune of €65.4m in 2026, whereas it is to raise the funding of RTÉ to €240m in 2026 and €260m the year after.

If Coimisiún na Meán is recommending increases in funding for RTÉ on the basis of helping it to meet its public service obligations, it is difficult to reconcile that principle with recent decisions which have a direct impact on those obligations.

The decision to shut down RTÉ’s in-house TV documentary unit is a case in point, as documentaries are the embodiment of public service broadcasting.

The contradiction between increased funding for RTÉ’s public service obligations and operational decisions running contrary to those obligations needs to be resolved. 

Hugh Wallace: A career built on personality

Hugh Wallace. Picture: Tom Honan

There was a sense of shock around Ireland in recent days when news broke of the sudden death of Hugh Wallace at the age of 68.

Mr Wallace had a distinguished career as an architect: He was a founding partner of Douglas Wallace Architects. Though the practice was based in Dublin, he worked on designs for hotels, retail spaces, and homes based all over the country.

However, he was best known as a judge and presenter on various design-related TV series such as Home of the Year, The Great House Revival, and My Bungalow Bliss. His engaging personality and keen eye for the telling design detail made him a huge hit with audiences, and he was the only judge who appeared in every series of Home of the Year since it first screened back in 2015.

Tributes have flooded in since his death, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin saying he was “deeply saddened” by the news, citing Mr Wallace’s “advocacy for good architecture, coupled with his wonderful communication skills, [he] performed a wonderful public service”.

He also did the public some service in speaking frankly about his alcoholism, telling Vickie Maye of this parish that “when I was 52, I went to the doctor at the bottom of the barrel and he said: ‘You’re an alcoholic’. I was very relieved I wasn’t going to die because now I knew I could stop it... I did counselling and went to the Stanhope Centre for rehabilitation”.

Condolences to his husband Martin, friends, and family.