Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Will Brexit have implications for how media being beamed into Ireland from the UK are managed? Does the BAI have a role in regulating that? Are there British broadcasters or others who have come to the BAI looking for licensing or engaged in informal discussions with regard to establishing a business here if Brexit transpires, which it looks like it will? The witnesses do not have to name them. Is the remit of the BAI slightly out of date? It is fortunate we are doing this in advance of the funding forum next Friday. Where is the money going? Is it going to Netflix, Virgin Media and Sky, which the BAI does not regulate? It does not regulate the €300 million that is going to Facebook. All the big international players are cleaning up here and we are regulating the daylights out of the Irish sector. Do the witnesses have a view on how that might change?

I had a chance to read the Reuters Institute digital news report that Professor Travers cited in his presentation. It is interesting to see some of the developments in that and the continuing move towards digital. It is interesting that in the news category, in the Irish sector thejournal.ieis becoming the lead digital forum. It is a very good organisation; I have a lot of time for it. The BAI does not regulate thejournal.ie. Facebook is going into television; it launched it last week. The BAI does not regulate Facebook. What are we doing in terms of regulating media if we do not regulate Netflix, Facebook, Sky, Virgin Media or thejournal.ie? Is it fair in a world where it is all meeting in the one place - online - and it is all video streaming? Do we not need to change the legislative remit and approach to broadcasting regulation?