Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 83:

In page 103, line 34, to delete "statement" and substitute "Charter".

We already had this discussion on committee Stage. A charter is much stronger than a statement. A statement is a signal of intent. A charter is a set of rules with which a corporation must comply. A charter which is enforceable is the appropriate term in this section instead of "statement". From the Committee Stage discussion I know that Deputy McManus had a similar view.

I would like to primarily focus on amendment No. 85, which proposes:

In page 104, to delete lines 13 to 15 and substitute the following:

"(a) The nature and number of hours of children's programming, including animation and children's programming in the Irish language, to be broadcast by the corporation, that shall include a minimum of 30 per cent of programming originally produced by the organisation and/or independent Irish producers,".

We had a very constructive discussion on Committee Stage on children's programming, about which I know the Minister cares as evidenced by his codes of conduct on advertising of junk food and so on. Amendment No. 85 proposes to try to ensure that programming targeted at children has an Irish flavour to it as opposed to allowing broadcasters take the soft option of simply importing programmes like "The Simpsons" from across the Atlantic to fill the children's programme slots.

To be fair, RTE in particular has made considerable efforts to promote home-grown children's programming, on which it should be commended. We should insert a signal in the legislation specifying that children's programming by Irish broadcasters should have at least 30% Irish content, whether that is home-grown within the corporation or through the independent production sector. There is a particular talent within the Irish independent production sector for animation, for example, that should be encouraged, supported and used by Irish broadcasters.

The Bill already mentions the need to take account of children's needs. However, there is no substitute for home-grown Irish-based and Irish-backed programming which is more in tune with young people in Ireland rather than simply buying in the cheapest or most populist option for children to watch. Thirty per cent is a reasonable request and, as it happens, is pretty close to the existing practice. It should ensure if times remain tough in terms of funding that children's programming will still have a 30% home-grown content rather than making cutbacks in that area and in doing so providing an increasing majority of children's programming from abroad. I hope the Minister will accept the amendment.

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