Niamh Smyth
Cavan-Monaghan · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I thank Senator Higgins for speaking to this amendment and Senator Stephenson for putting it forward. I fully agree on the importance of co-operation and co-ordination between competent authorities in the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act.”
“63 would reduce the current period of 14 working days to a period of no more than seven days. The purpose of section 49 is to balance regulatory intervention with fair procedures.”
“I am going to take time after this debate to look at the Instagram account the Deputy raised today to see for myself. I do not disbelieve the Deputy. It upsets me so much to see that is allowed. Where is the monitoring of it?”
“These are: prohibited practices under Article 5; serious incidents reported under Article 73; high-risk AI systems referred to in annexe III in accordance with Article 49(5); and any other AI-related incidents or notifications required to be reported under the regulation.”
“The Government will continue to benefit from the expertise of the office in the deployment and implementation of AI-related policy and regulation.”
“I know that when you go to public meetings like those in question, there are tough stories from parents and you may feel a little inadequate sometimes in being able to deal with these things as quickly as possible. I am glad the Deputies used their time here today to make the presentation and to campaign for the parents.”
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“This will, however, provide the foundation for implementing the recommendations identified, including the progression of proposals for the future management of the plains. Any such proposals will be brought before Government to decide on a future management structure. I reiterate that it is the Government's intention to ensure the Curragh Plains are protected into future while ensuring and maximising the benefit to all stakeholders. I will relay the Deputy's point. The National Parks and Wildlife Service needs to act quickly to protect it, so we do not see caravans parking up, as they would not do in the Phoenix Park and should not do in the Curragh either.”
“The Deputy's passion about this is obvious. The statement from the Minister, Deputy McEntee, acknowledges the contribution he has made over the years working with the Department of Defence and the National Wildlife and Parks Service as an entity that may take on the management of this beautiful, scenic, historic and important piece of landscape that we have on the island of Ireland. As I have already stated, the Minister remains committed to pursuing a modern and sustainable regulatory model to manage this historically important landscape in the Curragh. The Curragh Plains conservation management plan, finalised and published in 2024, is under consideration by officials in the Department of Defence.”
“I again thank the Deputy for his question and assure him that the Minister’s intention is to ensure that the Curragh Plains, as an important element of our shared heritage, is protected into the future while also ensuring maximum benefit to the local population and to those who come to visit the plains. This Government is fully committed to pursuing a modern and sustainable regulatory model in managing this historically important landscape in the Curragh.”
“As called for in the programme for Government, it is intended to implement the recommendations of the conservation plan for the Curragh, particularly in relation to transferring the plains to the agency that is best suited to managing this historic landscape. To this end, Department officials will continue to engage with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which has undertaken an initial scoping of its likely requirements. I understand further discussions are intended in the coming weeks. From this process it is intended to advise Government as to the appropriate way to manage the plains.”
“Throughout the project, both the Department of Defence and Kildare County Council remained cognisant of the need to have in place a means of ensuring conservation of this ancient landscape, while also enabling the area to receive the recognition it deserves. The plan has laid out opportunities through which the area can be uniquely identified and also scoped out the development potential of the area as a high-value visitor attraction. It also aims to balance the needs of the respective users of the Curragh Plains, while caring for its natural qualities and providing clear policies for its sustainable future use.”
“The project came to completion in December 2024 when the Curragh Plains conservation management plan and the associated branding, interpretation and wayfinding strategy were published. The consultation process identified the need for a review of the Curragh by-laws and the Curragh of Kildare Act, with potential amendments to provide effective solutions to challenges faced. The report also identified the need to consider a dedicated agency responsible for the Curragh, or to assign responsibility for the site to an existing agency with the necessary expertise to maximise the potential of the plains.”
“Additionally, the plains are used by sheep owners who avail of rights of pasture on the lands, and by both locals and visitors to Kildare as a major natural amenity. I concur about its scenic beauty any time you drive through County Kildare. The Curragh is approximately 4,870 acres and is one of the most open, accessible, and arguably beautiful areas in this country. As the Deputy will be aware, for the past several years, the Department of Defence has been collaborating with Kildare County Council on the Curragh consultancy project, seeking to develop a suitable future management method and to highlight the importance and significance of the heritage associated with the Curragh Plains.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this incredibly important matter. I am here to respond on behalf of the Minister for Defence, who unfortunately cannot be here, but she sends her apologies to the House. I welcome the opportunity to respond on this matter. I acknowledge Deputy Ó Fearghaíl’s long-standing interest in the protection, conservation and preservation of the Curragh Plains and his ongoing engagement with officials in that regard. The Curragh, as State land vested in the Minister for Defence, is recognised as a working environment for the State's Defence Forces as well as being a place of historical and cultural importance. The main occupiers are the Defence Forces in the Curragh Camp and the Curragh Racecourse, which leases a large tract of land.”
“The council reports that illegal dumping has reduced by approximately 20 tonnes per month since the introduction of the programme and has contributed significantly to the very positive findings of the most recent Irish Business Against Litter survey, which noted a reduction in littering and an improved level of cleanliness. These improvements have delivered savings in terms of resources required - the Deputy acknowledged that argument – as well as collection and disposal costs for waste management services. I will relay Deputy Gannon’s concerns to the Minister.”
“The criteria for these designated areas are: no space within the boundary of the property, which is the argument the Deputy is making; physical features would make it difficult to move a bag to the front or edge of the property or nearest boundary for presentation, or that it would be unreasonably difficult; that the area is too narrow for a refuse collection vehicle to access properties and the nearest designated collection point or suitable presentation point is more than 100 m from the property; and where the local authority is notified of exceptional circumstances and certifies it as same. While waste legislation and policy are a matter for the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, the bag-free streets programme is entirely an initiative for Dublin City Council.”
“It is widely recognised there are difficulties with the collection of household waste in bags, including the littering caused as a result of bags being ripped, which we often see. There are health and safety issues for collectors whereby sharp objects are placed in bags, litter caused by fly-tipping on streets in areas where bag collections take place, little or no segregation of recyclables or food waste and the inability to gather data on waste collected for statistical and environmental reporting purposes. The Department, in consultation with local authorities, set criteria to be applied nationally with a view to phasing out bags except for areas where it is not practical to use wheelie bins and have been designated by local authorities as suitable for the use of atypical collection solutions.”
“The waste management market is serviced by private companies, where the terms and conditions of contracts, including payment methods, are matters between those companies and their customers, subject to compliance with all applicable legislation, including contract and consumer legislation. The Minister has no role in relation to payment methods or setting prices in a competitive market. The roll-out of this programme by Dublin City Council is an anti-litter and anti-dumping initiative. It will eliminate the presentation of domestic and commercial waste in bags, preventing the bags being ripped open by birds and vermin, thus making the streets cleaner. Affected households will need to switch to wheelie bins or use the new waste compactors. Any questions on the roll-out of the programme should be directed to Dublin City Council.”
“Households can check with their local authorities if such a designation applies to their address and can organise a service with an authorised waste collection company accordingly. Private waste collectors operate under a waste collection permit issued by the National Waste Collection Permit Office, NWCPO. These permits are subject to a set of standard conditions which include a requirement that waste collection charging systems should incentivise customers to source segregate their waste. This means that the fees charged for the collection of the brown bin or mixed dry recyclables bin should be lower than the fees for the collection of the residual general waste bin. All permits can be viewed in full on the NWCPO website.”
“The collection of waste in bags was prohibited nationally over ten years ago, except in areas designated by local authorities as only being suitable for collection of waste in bags for reasons such as streets being too narrow or where there is no space within a property for three bins. In recent years, this was amended to collection by means of atypical collection solutions. If a household is in an area with no bin collection service, it may be able to avail of atypical collection solutions such as non-reusable receptacles or bags from the nearest collection point. Local authorities are responsible for designating areas as being only suitable for the collection of such waste by means of atypical collection solutions.”
“I am here on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Brien. Waste management is a statutory executive function of local authorities. The phase-out of bags for the collection of waste is an initiative being taken by Dublin City Council, as the Deputy outlined. Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act, the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment is precluded from exercising any power or control, in specific circumstances, over the statutory functions of a local authority. That is not to say I will not relay the concerns the Deputy has outlined and see if there is any possibility of an intervention.”
“Accordingly, and noting record delivery of new build social housing last year, demand for acquisitions should start to taper off as a greater level of new stock is delivered year on year. As I said, I will certainly relay Deputy Cooney's suggestions and observations to the Minister for housing and ask him to respond to the Deputy directly.”
“I will absolutely relay the Deputy's suggestions to the Minister. I will now read the remainder of the reply from the Department. Local authorities may also draw on their respective internal capital receipts, and the Department of housing's planned maintenance and voids programme, energy efficiency retrofit programme, and disabled persons grants scheme, to support non-essential works that can be carried out in the long term. In this regard, Clare County Council projected that some €600,000 or so would be on hand via its internal capital receipts at the end of 2025, while a further €3.4 million is available to the council this year through the Department's stock improvement programmes. Ultimately, the delivery of new build social housing at scale is the only strategic solution preventing and alleviating long-term homelessness.”
“They already benefit from significant Exchequer-funded rent supports through the housing assistance payment or rental accommodation scheme and, critically, must comply fully with the housing regulations. If refurbishment is required, local authorities need only undertake works necessary to comply with the regulations, effectively ensuring that homes are immediately safe, secure and warm. In such cases, local authorities can draw on the significant rental funding available to them through their respective annual budgetary processes. Notably, Clare County Council's adopted budget for 2025 suggests only 77% of its rental income would be invested in social housing management and maintenance. Local authorities may also draw on their respective internal capital receipts, and the Department of housing's planned maintenance and voids programme.”
“The remaining €173 million comprises €157 million for local authority priority acquisitions, including tenant in situ purchases, and a contingency of €16 million for local authorities that have drawn down most of their allocation but can complete further acquisitions and draw down the funding from the Department before the end of the year. Clare County Council has been allocated an initial €1.7 million, with €800,000 and €900,000 earmarked for approved housing body and local authority priority acquisitions respectively. Consistent with the eligibility criteria introduced last year, refurbishment or adaptation costs are no longer an eligible cost for tenant in situ acquisitions. Generally, extensive refurbishments of those properties should not be required.”
“With more than 17,000 persons in emergency homeless accommodation, including more than 5,000 children, the primary focus of this year's programme is to help households to exit emergency homeless accommodation into permanent housing. To this end, the largest share of funding available for draw-down, some €150 million, is ring-fenced for acquisitions supporting households and taking them out of homelessness. Thereafter, some €50 million is available to approved housing bodies for urgent acquisitions for older people, those with disabilities and caregivers.”
“However, they will never be the sole or even the primary option. The default first options should almost always be securing the sustainment of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the tenancy sustainment and placefinder services, or allocating a local authority or approved housing body tenancy via a new build home or relet. Where acquisitions are deemed necessary, local authorities may pursue individual priority acquisitions without recourse to the Department, once they satisfy the broad parameters and criteria of the second-hand acquisitions programme. Some €373 million is available to be drawn down by local authorities and approved housing bodies under this year's programme.”
“I thank Deputy Cooney for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne. I am happy to do so. I will pass on Deputy Cooney's thoughts and concerns about the tenant in situ scheme to the Minister. Tenancy sustainment, also known as tenancy in situ , is not a stand-alone programme or scheme. It is a priority category under the Department of housing's social housing second-hand acquisitions programme, which helps to prevent social housing supported households in the private rental sector from becoming homeless. Such acquisitions are an option for local authorities to support households in the most precarious housing situations. They will continue to be available to local authorities for use as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted.”
“The Bill increases public service media’s independence, strengthens the independent regulator, and provides for objective assessments of funding needs and appraisal, as required by the European Media Freedom Act. Finally, I express my deep thanks for the contributions today and I look forward to working with Deputies into the future.”
“The Bill represents a key milestone in the evolution of the Broadcasting Act 2009 in terms of the regulation, governance and assessment of our public service media providers and the assessment and recognition of the role of the wider media sector in providing public service content to the public. The Bill will provide Coimisiún na Meán, as independent regulator, with enhanced powers to ensure that public service media providers are transparent, independent and provide value for money, which is what we all want to see. The Bill enables Coimisiún na Meán to deal with the continuing changes in how we support and engage with public service media and public service content providers in Ireland. The Bill has a critical EU law dimension as it will transpose provisions of the European Media Freedom Act.”
“Our local, regional and national commercial newspapers and broadcasters also produce public interest journalism that holds power to account and makes innovative Irish programming available to the public. That is why this Bill will put in place a statutory framework that seeks to ensure the Irish public has access to high-quality, accessible public service content supplied by RTÉ and TG4. They will have a distinctive role and duties as public service media providers, and also to the wider Irish media sector. The variety of the issues which have been raised on the floor highlight the breadth of the framework set out in the Bill.”
“I have no doubt they will raise it with the Minister, Patrick O'Donovan. I thank all the Deputies for their important contributions this afternoon. It is a little bit of déjà vu after the last term in the Dáil. I am hopeful for RTÉ's sake, because we know how important our public service broadcaster is given we live in a time of so much misinformation, with loud, algorithmic-driven outrage. It is so important the Irish public has objective reporting and not commentating, as Deputy Ward quite rightly said, with reporting on current affairs and reporting as is, so our general public have that. That is so important to our culture, our society and to democracy. I hope we are coming to a new dawn within RTÉ that everyone can have confidence around. As has been raised by a number of contributors, those ideals are not limited to RTÉ and TG4.”
“I have some notes here in relation to the piece on geo-blocking. There is an existing legislative obligation on RTÉ and TG4 to make their television and services free to air to the whole community of Ireland insofar that it is reasonably practical. However, cases can arise where public service broadcasters cannot broadcast certain content outside the State due to rights restrictions, noting that the rights to content are often provided on a geographic or territorial basis. There is further opportunity to engage with the Minister on this and I support Deputy Ó Murchú's views on that as a Border county colleague. I thank the officials who have sat here trying to feed information to me and, more importantly, who have been taking note of everything that is being raised and particularly the concerns.”
“It is not for everybody and there must be a funding source for those independent creators who want to work outside the bubble of RTÉ. We have to find a way to do that, to fund that and to find a way it can be done in a transparent way. In respect of the geo-blocking raised by Deputy Ó Murchú, I concur with everything the Deputy has said.”
“I thank colleagues for their very heartfelt contributions today. Our officials present have taken copious notes on all the points raised. I have no doubt that they, along with myself, will relay them to the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan. There are two colleagues who remain in the House. I take Deputy Boyd Barrett's point and his concerns on the 25% but it is important to acknowledge that a lot of that will go to independent Irish content creators too, and they are all creatives. I hear what the Deputy is saying. We are only on Second Stage of this Bill so hopefully there will be an opportunity to give the Deputy the reassurance that it will be used wisely and used in a way that helps our independent Irish creators flourish too. Not everybody wants to work in RTÉ. Deputy Boyd Barrett and I both know that being from the creative industries.”
“I am conscious the past three weeks have felt like Groundhog Day, which is a phrase used by both the Minister and the Tánaiste. In all of this, we must not lose sight of the essential role RTÉ and TG4 as public service media providers play in the social, cultural and democratic life of this country. They provide programming that informs, educates and entertains and ensure the public can have, and knows it can have, trustworthy and reliable information. However, to be truly effective our public service media providers must be trusted. To be trusted they must be open and transparent and demonstrate the very highest standards in corporate governance. This must be underpinned by robust legislation and that is why this Bill aims to fundamentally reform the governance and regulation of RTÉ and TG4.”
“The Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, has set out his view that it is appropriate any charge which may increase the prices Irish consumers pay should be subject to democratic oversight. For that reason, section 56 of the Bill provides that a levy may only be imposed by Coimisiún na Meán pursuant to a ministerial direction. The Minister has been very clear he does not intend to give such direction at this time. To ensure this position can be considered in light of up-to-date information and analysis, section 58 of the Bill provides for the ex-ante and ex-post assessments of the impact of a levy to be undertaken by Coimisiún na Meán every three years. The first report will be due three years after the commencement of the relevant section, or earlier if directed by the Minister.”
“Sections 20 and 60 of the Bill will extend this information-gathering power to require regulated entities to provide information relating to compliance with other elements of the online safety framework and with media service codes and rules. As a Government, we are committed to ensuring Coimisiún na Meán has all appropriate powers to carry out its functions in relation to online safety. The Broadcasting Act 2009 currently provides Coimisiún na Meán with the authority to impose a levy on audiovisual broadcasters, such as RTÉ or VMTV, and video-on-demand providers, such as Netflix or the RTÉ Player. The proceeds of what is often called the Netflix levy may be used by Coimisiún na Meán or Fís Éireann to fund new audiovisual programming.”
“In line with the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission, sections 45 and 46 of the Bill will require RTÉ to allocate a minimum of 25% of its public funding to commission audiovisual and audio programming from the independent production sector. The 25% target will no longer be confined to broadcast material but will also cover podcasts and audiovisual programming to be made available via on-demand players. In terms of regulatory powers, Coimisiún na Meán already has extensive powers to require information from a provider following the opening of a formal investigation. Outside investigations and as part of its supervisory function, it also has the power to require, by notice in writing, a regulated provider to provide it with information relating to compliance with an online safety code.”
“Second, the broadcasting fund will be converted into a fund known as ciste na meán, which will continue to be funded annually by 7% of net TV licence fee receipts and an Exchequer allocation. Third, out of the resources paid into ciste na meán, Coimisiún na Meán will prepare and operate public service content funding schemes to support the production of new public service content, measures to develop the capacity of public service content providers and measures to support the archiving of public service content. Over time it is expected that existing media funding schemes, such as the Sound and Vision scheme and the courts and local democracy reporting schemes, will be converted to schemes made under the Act. Under existing legislation, RTÉ is required to provide an inflation-adjusted fixed amount of funding for independent programming.”
“Section 4 also provides for a definition of "under-served audience", which refers to audiences who may be under-served by virtue of a particular characteristic such as age, disability or geography. Section 54 provides for the three main elements of the new framework. First, Coimisiún na Meán will be required to carry out triennial reviews of public service content provision to assess gaps in such provision in the Irish and English languages and to recommend measures to address these gaps. The reviews must have particular regard to the needs of the under-served audiences. The first of these will be submitted to the Minister by 30 June 2027 and cover the period 2028 to 2030.”
“Section 4 provides for a definition of "public service content" as any audiovisual or sound programme, anything published in a press publication and types of online content which inform, educate or entertain and which relates to an exhaustive list of categories of interest to Irish audiences. A key principle of public service content is that it can only be made available by public service content providers, as defined in section 3 of the Bill. Public service content providers may be either regulated entities, such as a broadcaster regulated by Coimisiún na Meán, or an entity subject to a recognised self-regulatory regime, such as a newspaper regulated by the Press Council. This is intended to ensure any funded content is subject to regulation, with a clear avenue for the public to make complaints.”
“Sections 15 to 19, inclusive, and 21 to 23, inclusive, of the Bill provide for the extension of the duties and codes which currently apply to broadcast and video-on-demand content to all public service content made available by RTÉ and TG4, such as podcasts and written material. As public service media providers established in law, RTÉ and TG4 have a particular duty to their audiences. This will bring all of RTÉ and TG4's public service content under the regulation of Coimisiún na Meán and enable audiences to make complaints to Coimisiún na Meán regarding such content. Sections 4, 5 and 54 of the Bill provide for the new framework to support public service content.”
“The audience councils were introduced in the Broadcasting Act 2009 and are intended to represent the views of the people of the island of Ireland to the boards of RTÉ and TG4. The Bill will expand the role of the audience councils by: providing for the statutory independence of the audience councils of RTÉ and TG4; requiring the selection of diverse members of both councils by Coimisiún na Meán following an open and transparent public competition; providing that an audience council may, in addition to the required annual report, prepare a special report; and requiring RTÉ and TG4 to respond to both annual and special reports prepared by their audience councils.”
“Section 43 provides that RTÉ must disclose additional information in its annual report on the commissioning of independent productions. This will include the total cost of each production in monetary bands which shall be determined by the Minister and the public contribution to the cost of production as a percentage of the total cost of production. Section 48 of the Bill will require TG4 to provide this information annually for the first time. Given the large sums of public moneys expended in this area, this transparency is both appropriate and necessary. Sections 36 to 39, inclusive, of the Bill will strengthen the role and independence of the audience councils of RTÉ and TG4, following the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission.”
“The second, due on 31 October of each year, will examine compliance with various State aid requirements, such as the separate accounting of public service and commercial revenues and expenditure. In terms of enhanced transparency, the Bill provides for additional reporting obligations on RTÉ and TG4 in respect of employee and contractor remuneration and commissioning activities. Section 43 of the Bill requires RTÉ and TG4 to disclose information on the remuneration of staff and relevant contractors in monetary bands, which shall be determined by the Minister. As the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, has said, this is an area he will consider further and, if necessary, will bring forward proposals to strengthen obligations on transparency and reporting obligations in this area, which will require engagement with the Data Protection Commission.”
“Section 44 of the Bill provides that the three-year appraisal will be underpinned by a detailed methodology which will be published by Coimisiún na Meán following a public consultation. This methodology is intended to provide clear guidance to RTÉ and TG4 in making submissions to Coimisiún an Meán as part of the three-yearly appraisal. The first three-year methodology will be published by the end of January 2027. Section 44 also strengthens the yearly review process undertaken by Coimisiún na Meán, which will now be required to carry out two annual reviews. The first, due on 30 June of each year, will focus on the degree to which RTÉ and TG4 met their performance targets and received adequate funding for the previous year in line with the European Media Freedom Act.”
“Section 44 of the Bill provides for the enhanced mechanism for assessing the performance and appropriate funding of RTÉ and TG4, which is based on the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission and requirements of the European Media Freedom Act. Under the framework, Coimisiún na Meán will assess and appraise the funding needs of and determine detailed performance targets for RTÉ and TG4 every three years. The first of these three-yearly appraisals is to be submitted to the Minister for onward submission to the Government by 30 June 2027 and cover the period 2028 to 2030. This replaces the current approach, under which Coimisiún na Meán appraises funding needs every five years and the public service media providers set out their own performance commitments.”
“In line with the recommendations of the expert advisory committee on governance and culture in RTÉ, sections 25 to 31 of the Bill clarify and expand provisions relating to the functions, duties, role and necessary expertise of the boards and board committees of RTÉ and TG4. In particular, sections 25 and 30 clearly set out and separate the functions of the boards on one hand and the duties of board members on the other. The duties in section 30 now include duties equivalent to those of a company director under the Companies Act 2014, an additional duty to represent the interests of the people of the island of Ireland and of Irish communities outside the island of Ireland, and a duty of confidentiality.”
“The Government will no longer have a role in consenting to the appointment of a director general. However, the approval of the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport and Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation will still be required to determine the remuneration and terms and conditions of employment of the DG. Given the seriousness of a decision to dismiss a DG, the section provides that a board must provide the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport with a statement of the decision and reasons for it, which must be laid before the Oireachtas.”
“Under the section, a director general will be vested with the editorial functions of a provider in terms of determining the providers' overall editorial policies, standards and priorities. In this context it is important to note that both RTÉ and TG4 will continue to be accountable to Coimisiún na Meán as regulator for their adherence to these duties and any media service codes made by Coimisiún na Meán. This provision aims to balance editorial independence with accountability to an independent regulator. Section 33 of the Bill also gives effect to Article 5 of the European Media Freedom Act by setting out in detail the requirements for an open and transparent process for the appointment and, in certain specified circumstances, removal of a director general.”
“Sections 32 and 33 of the Bill clarify and expand provisions relating to the functions, duties, accountability, appointment and dismissal of directors general of RTÉ and TG4. Section 32 provides that a director general is expressly accountable to the board for the efficient and effective management of the provider and the performance of his or her functions and expressly prohibits them from taking part in any board deliberations regarding their own performance, removal or replacement. Section 33 clarifies a range of matters relating to the role of director general as editor-in-chief for their provider, following on from the principles set out in the European Media Freedom Act.”
“Part 2 of the Bill provides the entirety of the substantive amendments to the Broadcasting Act 2009 while Part 3 provides for a necessary technical amendment to the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 to allow for the assignment of that office as auditor of RTÉ. I will outline the detailed provisions of the Bill focusing in particular on the key sections of the Bill. I turn first to the corporate governance of RTÉ and TG4. Sections 35, 41 and 62 of the Bill provide for the assignment of the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ and for the accountability of the director general to the Committee of Public Accounts in respect of RTÉ's annual audited financial statements and value-for-money matters.”
“While our public service media providers are important, we also need to sustain an assortment of content provided by a diversity of providers on local, regional and national levels. To support this type of public service content, the new framework for public service content set out in the Bill will convert the existing broadcasting fund to a platform-neutral fund known as Ciste na Meán. This expanded fund will support the production, distribution and archiving of public service content across all formats by the wider media sector. In addition to the new framework for supporting public service content, the Bill will also require RTÉ to dedicate at least 25% of its annual public funding to the commissioning of programming from the independent production sector. The Bill is composed of three Parts.”
“First, the Bill will reform the statutory basis underpinning the corporate governance of RTÉ and TG4. Second, the Bill will enhance the statutory framework through which Coimisiún na Meán assesses the performance and funding of RTÉ and TG4. The Bill provides for greater transparency on remuneration of staff and relevant contractors by RTÉ and TG4 and reporting on the commissioning of independent producers, including information on the total cost of production in monetary bands and percentage of the Exchequer contribution. The Bill will strengthen the role and authority of the audience councils of RTÉ and TG4. The Bill will also extend content regulation by Coimisiún na Meán to all non-broadcast content made available by RTÉ and TG4.”
“The European Media Freedom Act is a landmark piece of EU legislation designed to protect the independence and plurality of media services across the Union. It is vital that we implement it fully as soon as possible, particularly in the context in which Ireland will take up the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Pre-legislative scrutiny has played an important role in the development of the Bill. I would like to acknowledge the work of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, which demonstrated the vital role that pre-legislative scrutiny plays in our legislative process. The Bill takes account of over 30 of the recommendations made by the committee as part of its pre-legislative scrutiny. The Bill provides for reforms in RTÉ and TG4 across five key areas.”