Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Guím gach rath ar an gcoiste tábhachtach seo don bhliain nua agus gabhaim buíochas leis as ucht a bheith ag obair linn. I wish members a happy new year. I thank the committee for facilitating us this morning and I thank everybody who took part in what was generally a constructive engagement on Second Stage.

Members will be aware that 13 of the very large online platforms and search engines are established in Ireland and consequently Ireland has a unique, critically important and high-profile role in the overall EU regulatory framework for digital services. This week, we are working towards enacting the Digital Services Bill before the EU deadline of 17 February, when the EU Digital Services Act comes into full effect.

As I said previously, this is a technical Bill that is necessary to give full effect to the supervision and enforcement provisions of the EU Act. The obligations on regulated entities, namely, the intermediary service providers, are set out in the EU Act and are settled EU law outside the scope of the Bill. Therefore, all proposed amendments must be considered against this backdrop.

I will reflect briefly on some of the issues raised on Second Stage. The Digital Services Act places the protection of freedom of expression at its core. It imposes rules on platforms to enhance the transparency of content moderation decisions. It provides users with a right of appeal if their content is removed and the right to access an out-of-court dispute settlement mechanism if the matter is not resolved to their satisfaction through the appeals process.

A number of Deputies raised concerns regarding trusted flaggers. The Digital Services Act is prescriptive on both who can apply for this designation and the scope of the role. The role of a trusted flagger will be to flag illegal content or content that is incompatible with the terms and conditions of service of the provider - not objectionable content. Trusted flaggers will have to publish information every year on their notifications, including the type of allegedly illegal content notified, the providers notified and the response and actions taken by the providers. Coimisiún na Meán can investigate a trusted flagger on its own initiative, on foot of information received from a third party or a complaint from a provider. A database of trusted flaggers will be published by the European Commission, which will also include information on trusted flaggers whose status has been suspended or revoked.

I acknowledge the important issue of resourcing was raised a number of times. While this is not a matter for legislation, I can assure members that the Government and I will ensure that Coimisiún na Meán and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, are adequately resourced for their respective responsibilities under the Digital Services Act. The Government allocated €2.7 million to an coimisiún for 2023 to set up the digital services co-ordinator function. This funding has increased to €6 million for 2024. The CCPC's Exchequer funding has also been increased. The resourcing of this authority will be kept under constant review in light of operational experience with the Digital Services Act during the year, and that is a commitment I give to this committee. I have kept in touch with Coimisiún na Meán, our digital services commissioner, John Evans, and the CCPC throughout this process to ensure that we are at one on that.

Since the Bill completed Second Stage, my officials, working in close co-operation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, have identified a small number of issues that necessitate technical amendments to the Bill. These amendments are intended to provide greater clarity and strengthen provisions on matters such as data protection and procedures in relation to cross-border activities and joint investigations. No policy change will be effected as a result of any of these amendments. I again acknowledge the huge work put into this Bill on a very tight deadline by the four officials here with me.

With that, I look forward to our debate. I thank members for engaging. Gabhaim buíochas leo as ucht a n-obair inniu.