Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport

General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed)

2:00 am

Mr. Noel Quinn:

I think I have already laboured the point about piracy a little too much, so I will not go back on old ground, but it is a significant impact on our potential earning power.

As regards other hurdles we have to jump, we are an over-the-top streaming platform, we are naturally reliant on broadband penetration. While that is a little bit of a wrinkle in the model, I am thankful for the fact that the national broadband plan is going well and Ireland is a nation of nearly 5 million Internet users. That hurdle is being overcome, and 4G and 5G access is now at 98% and 75%, respectively. The Internet connectivity hurdle was a more material thing a number of years ago. It is mitigating as we go.

Another example is venue infrastructure. In the interests of protecting our employees in terms of health and safety and having a good-quality working environment, it would be a matter of continuously upgrading facilities to make sure they have the best experience when they go to the newly refurbished Cedral St. Conleth's Park or MacCumhaill Park in Ballybofey.