‘Insufficient critique’ – The Oireachtas Banking Inquiry and the media

A parliamentary inquiry into the Irish banking collapse was formally established in November 2014, tasked with examining relevant issues from the period of January 1992 to December 2013. In focusing on the role played by the media - and where reportage may have impacted on, or contributed to, the crisis - the Banking Inquiry heard from eight senior media executives who held either commercial or editorial positions in four media organisations in Ireland during the period of the economic boom and subsequent collapse. This article focuses on the engagement of these media witnesses with the inquiry, drawing on written submissions and oral evidence. Having reviewed the place of journalism in a democracy and examined the role of journalism during the economic crisis, the article considers the Banking Inquiry’s final report, specifically in relation to the media. The review concludes that this parliamentary inquiry did not assist in advancing a serious understanding of the work undertaken by the Irish media in the pre-2007 period and that, ultimately, for all involved this engagement was a missed opportunity.