Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I move amendment No. 23:

In page 33, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:

"(e) provide a regulatory environment that will sustain compliance with applicable employment law,

(f) protect the interests of children taking into account the vulnerability of children and childhood to undue commercial exploitation,".

Amendment No. 23 places an explicit requirement on the broadcasting authority of Ireland and on statutory committees to protect the interests children, especially in respect to commercialisation. The amendment is intended to respond to the concerns raised by Deputies on Committee Stage. I believe it addresses the essence of amendment No. 24 as proposed by Deputy McManus.

Amendment No. 23 also requires that the broadcasting authority of Ireland and its statutory committees ensure that, in setting the regulatory environment for broadcasting, such environment is conducive to and supportive of compliance with employment law. The amendment arises out of concerns expressed that there have been a number of instances of exploitative treatment of persons employed in the sector. In essence, the amendment requires the broadcasting authority of Ireland to be mindful of that issue and in setting the regulatory environment that it does not supplant in any way the role of employment law compliance bodies such as NERA.

Section 26(1), in effect, lists the primary functions of the broadcasting authority of Ireland. While each of these functions is specified and dealt with in greater detail in other sections, section 26(1) and sections 27 and 28 allow the reader of the Bill to distinguish between the respective primary roles of the broadcasting authority of Ireland, the contracts awards committee and the compliance committee.

Amendment No. 25 rewords section 26(1) with the following intent. It re-orders the list to broadly reflect the order in which such functions appear in the Bill. It provides a more comprehensive list of the functions of the broadcasting authority of Ireland, that is, paragraphs (h), (i), (j), (p) and (q), and makes additions to the text of existing paragraphs (c), (h) and (l). It amends incorrect references in paragraph (h) of the existing text. Amendment No. 25 does not in its own right require the broadcasting authority of Ireland to perform any additional functions.

Section 27 outlines the primary function of the contracts award committee. Amendment No. 27 amends section 27 to encompass the role played by the contracts award committee in respect of the award of multiplex licences. Again, amendment No. 27 does not in its own right require the contracts award committee to perform any additional legislative functions.

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