Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, outlined, he drafted this Bill in late 2019 in response to the blacklisting of journalists by Communicorp Media, which banned those journalists from appearing on its radio stations. In October 2019, a cross-party letter was sent to the company calling for an end to the ban. Since then, a great deal has changed. Denis O'Brien's position as a media tycoon in this State, controlling large swathes of print and broadcast media for several decades, has come to a close with the sale of both Communicorp Media and Independent News & Media. The lack of media pluralism in the State during his time was, frankly, outrageous and the subsequent change in the media landscape is to be welcomed. Media pluralism is an essential component of any modern, democratic state. The State needs to step up to ensure that media freedoms and media plurality are maintained and protected.

While there have been changes in media ownership in Ireland in recent years, the regulatory landscape has remained much the same. There has been some progress, such as the establishment of the Future of Media Commission, the proposed online safety and media regulation Bill, the proposed electoral reform Bill and a number of EU directives. I look forward to reading the commission's report. It had a very wide and interesting remit and I hope that matters such as media concentration and freedoms of the media will be included in its findings. The 2021 report on Ireland by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom notes that the only survival plan for many Irish outlets is to become an element of larger international media groups. The issue of the consolidation of media ownership remains. Only this week, we were reminded of such concentration on a global scale when Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp went offline due to a Facebook server error. We might not be able to enact regulation in this House to manage media ownership but we can regulate how media companies do business here. I look forward to the publication of the online safety and media regulation Bill, which will bring about a number of major changes in the regulation of online media in this State. The Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media, of which I am a member, is currently finalising a pre-legislative report on the Bill. We have a large number of recommendations for the Department on how to improve it. I hope our suggestions will be taken on board as we need robust legislation to reform how online media operate in this State.

The Bill we are debating today will make it an offence for a broadcaster to ban a journalist who is a member of the NUJ from the airwaves for reason of occupation, employer company or employment status. Its provisions are limited to members of the NUJ as there is no legal definition of a journalist in law and we want to be fair to broadcasters and ensure the Bill is not so broad that anyone who self-identifies as a journalist can potentially take a case. There is a serious lack of legislation at this time regarding certain aspects of the media. The Bill will address one small, unregulated area and I hope the Government will support it. Every broadcaster has a responsibility to be fair and impartial regardless of who its owner is. Without this legislation, the obligation of impartiality is open to abuse. That is why it is needed.

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