Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

The types of material to which Deputy Durkan refers and material on the Internet fall to be addressed by existing criminal law rather than within the context of the Broadcasting Bill. The aim of the Bill is to ensure that broadcasting standards are maintained. Viewers and listeners have a general expectation of high standards from Irish broadcasters and we must ensure that this trust is not breached.

Regarding Deputy Durkan's comments on the right of reply, I agree with him that this is not a panacea for all ills. However, a right of reply will assist in mitigating the damage done to a person's reputation by means of a broadcast of inaccurate facts. I concur with Deputy Clune's and Deputy McGrath'spoints that if this recourse is to work speed is of the essence. Those who feel they have been unjustly treated on television or radio always wish to have the matter dealt with as quickly as possible.

In respect of Deputy McManus's and Deputy Coveney's observations on whether the BCI and ComReg might be merged into a single entity, this issue was considered in the formulation of the legislation. The principal argument against is the requirement for separate knowledge sets. In essence, ComReg is a network or platform distribution regulator and the BCI and BCC are content regulators.

Deputies McManus and O'Higgins are correct in saying that the Bill contains no general definition of what is meant by public service broadcasting. However, there are very specific definitions of the public service broadcasting mandates of individual public service broadcasters, namely, section 114 for RTE, section 118 for TG4, section 125 for the Oireachtas Channel and section 127 for the Irish Film Channel. The mandates of RTE and TG4 continue to encompass the public service formula of Lord Reith, the first chairman of the BBC, whose definition of what public service broadcasting should be was: "to inform, to educate and to entertain". The approach taken in the Bill mirrors that of jurisdictions with strong traditions of public service broadcasting.

Deputies McManus, Coveney, Kenneally and O'Flynn also raised the concerns of broadcasters in respect of any levy introduced in order to fund the activities of the BAI. Section 37 of the Bill requires the BAI to publish estimates of expenditure in advance to allow broadcasters to assess the likely extent of the levy. Expansion of this provision is being considered in order to address some of the concerns expressed.

Deputy McManus made a point regarding archiving. The Bill leaves it to the BAI to decide upon the appropriate balance of funding from the broadcasting fund as between programme making and archiving. Archiving is necessary if we are to maintain for future generations a sense of who we are and of the road we have travelled. However, the process of developing archives, and, more important, the process of developing a culture of archiving among all broadcasters, is a long-term one. We would all agree that the preservation of archival material is a progressive development and it is one we would all support. The older we get the more important archival material becomes.

As is evidenced by subsections (6) to (12) of section 69 the emphasis in this Bill is on the initial tentative step in that process, that of preservation. Concerning analogue switchover, Deputies will be aware that the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007 set the framework for the roll-out of digital terrestrial television by RTE and, subject to contract finalisation by the BCI, by Boxer DTT. The roll-out of digital terrestrial television services in 2009 will afford the opportunity to begin the process of informing viewers of the process of analogue switch-off. Section 11(8) of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007, which is restated in section 139(6) of the Bill, provides that RTE must take steps to ensure that viewers are made aware of analogue switch-off, the reason for it, the consequences of it, and practical information on how viewers can receive services by digital means after switch-off.

See this speech in context