{"id":16877,"date":"2026-04-13T14:53:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T13:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/?p=16877"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:53:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T13:53:42","slug":"media-ministers-attempt-to-blame-media-for-the-fuel-protests-is-jaw-dropping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/media-ministers-attempt-to-blame-media-for-the-fuel-protests-is-jaw-dropping\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Minister’s attempt to blame media for the fuel protests is jaw-dropping"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a dangerous attempt by government to exert editorial control over the media in an attempt to muzzle it<\/u><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It is jaw-dropping that Media Minister Patrick O\u2019Donovan is attempting to blame the media for the fuel protests, according to Social Democrats Media spokesperson Sin\u00e9ad Gibney.<\/p>\n

Deputy Gibney said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis government\u2019s handling of the fuel protests has been a disaster. Throughout the week the Taoiseach, T\u00e1naiste and Justice Minister were among a number of senior ministers who issued a series of incendiary statements that inflamed tensions, rather than reducing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, instead of owning up to the government\u2019s own failings, and reflecting on how badly they mismanaged the situation, Media Minister Patrick O\u2019Donovan has opted to shoot the messenger \u2013 the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a jaw-dropping and sinister interview this morning, the Minister sought to blame the media for the growth of protests and said the coverage was, in his view, \u201clop sided\u201d. Not just this, he said he would be speaking to the media regulator, Coimisi\u00fan Na Me\u00e1n, and demanding a review.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a transparent, and frankly pathetic, attempt to defray blame for the government\u2019s own botched approach, not just to the protests \u2013 but to the cost-of-living crisis, which has endured now for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also a dangerous attempt by government to exert editorial control over the media in an attempt to muzzle it. A cornerstone of any strong democracy is a free media. Any attempt by the government to chip away at this will be fiercely resisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is this government is arrogant, aloof and totally out of touch. They have not been listening to people \u2013 and did not therefore understand the degree of pressure an increasing number of people are under when it comes to the cost of living.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven now, they have introduced a package of measures that will provide almost no support to those low and middle income individuals and families who are really struggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of lashing out at the media, the minister would be better advised to reflect on his \u2013 and the government\u2019s \u2013 catastrophic handling of these protests.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a dangerous attempt by government to exert editorial control over the media in an attempt to muzzle it It is jaw-dropping that Media Minister Patrick O\u2019Donovan is attempting to blame the media for the fuel protests, according to Social Democrats Media spokesperson Sin\u00e9ad Gibney. Deputy Gibney said: \u201cThis government\u2019s handling of the fuel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[808,7,497],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","category-press-release","category-sinead-gibney"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMedia Minister's attempt to blame media for the fuel protests is jaw-dropping - Social Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/media-ministers-attempt-to-blame-media-for-the-fuel-protests-is-jaw-dropping\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Media Minister's attempt to blame media for the fuel protests is jaw-dropping - Social Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is a dangerous attempt by government to exert editorial control over the media in an attempt to muzzle it It is jaw-dropping that Media Minister Patrick O\u2019Donovan is attempting to blame the media for the fuel protests, according to Social Democrats Media spokesperson Sin\u00e9ad Gibney. 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