Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Broadcasting (Amendment) (Protection of Journalism) Bill 2019 be deemed to be read a second time this day eighteen months, to allow for greater analysis of the complex issues concerned and for such considerations to be taken into account in further scrutiny of the Bill."

Is mór agam deis a fháil labhairt leis an Teach faoin gceist thábhachtach a ardaítear sa Bhille seo agus gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí Cullinane agus Crowe as aird a thabhairt uirthi. Is fiú i gcónaí díospóireacht chuiditheach a dhéanamh sa Teach. Tuigim an réasúnaíocht a bhaineann le moladh an Bhille seo. As Deputy Cullinane rightly pointed out on First Stage, the banning of journalists by media outlets is a step in the wrong direction.

It is something that needs to be challenged in order for the media sector to function as it should. Journalism at its best informs us as citizens, engages us as a society and challenges us as representatives. It is a public good and I recognise it as such. It plays a crucial role in shaping a healthy democracy and is one of the pillars of a democratic society. A strong and independent media sector is central to our parliamentary democracy and freedom of speech, as well as to the provision of quality and impartial information.

As Minister, I firmly believe in the safeguarding of media plurality and in protecting the freedom of journalists to perform their jobs without fear of reprisals from other media organisations, such as in the form of bans. To elaborate on this point, I bring to the attention of the House the adoption by Ireland of the Council of Europe resolution on the safety of journalists. The resolution was tabled at the Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and Information Society, which I attended in June of this year.

Point two of the resolution is particularly relevant in the context of this debate. In summary, it asserts that the key role of journalists and other media actors in exposing wrongdoing, corruption, crime and abuse of power exposes them to intimidation, threats, harassment, violence, arbitrary surveillance or interception of communications, misuse of national laws, abusive litigation and sometimes to arbitrary deprivation of liberty. In adopting the resolution, the Government affirmed its commitment to the support and protection of journalists. We acknowledged that in order for journalists and other media actors to effectively and safely fulfil their role as public watchdog, they require appropriate protection. They also require an enabling environment for freedom of expression and media freedom in which vigorous public debate can thrive.

The Government recognises that journalists and other media actors play a central role in enabling the full enjoyment of freedom of expression. They are critical to the healthy functioning of a democracy. In support of this point, I bring the attention of Deputies to a line from the final declaration adopted by the Conference of Ministers. It asserts that all forms of attacks on journalists and other media actors intended to undermine their ability to perform their public watchdog role must be regarded as attacks on democracy and strongly condemned. It is the responsibility of states to act to effectively prevent, investigate and sanction threats and attacks of all kinds against journalists.

The relevant provisions of Bunreacht na hÉireann, as well as Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights, remain the fundamental standards to be applied in the exercise of those rights. Robust frameworks for the protection of freedom of expression and freedom of the media must be in place to ensure that journalists and the media can effectively perform their professional duties, including in times of crisis.

These points demonstrate the seriousness with which this Government views the importance of journalistic freedoms. As Minister I thank the Deputy once again for bringing forward this Bill so that a thorough debate can be held, and all arguments considered. Discrimination of any sort is something this Government vehemently opposes.

As the House is aware, the Bill seeks to amend the Broadcasting Act 2009 by making it a breach of contractor licence for a broadcaster to prohibit any member of the National Union of Journalists from appearing on its communications media for reason or reasons of occupation, employer, company relationship or employment status. However, while I welcome the debate brought on by the proposal of the Bill, I believe that, as drafted, it raises complexities. These could lead to significant unintended consequences which I will set out presently. It is the view of the Government that these issues require further consideration to ensure the Bill is suitably robust to ensure its effectiveness. It is on this basis that the Government is proposing to defer the Second Reading of the Bill for 18 months in order to allow further consideration of the matter.

The proposed change to the Broadcasting Act envisaged in the Bill would lead to a requirement to amend existing broadcasting contracts. Potential inconsistencies of application of the measure may arise across the broadcasting sector, as contracts are agreed for a fixed period of up to ten years. This would lead to a piecemeal landscape in which contract changes are implemented by the broadcasting regulator on an incremental basis over an extended duration of time, in line with the timeline for contract renewal for each individual broadcaster.

Furthermore, as the Bill provides for the amendment to be inserted in Part 6 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, it would only apply to commercial and community broadcasters, and not to services operated by RTÉ or TG4. As a Government, it is important that we take account of the right of broadcasters to determine the type of programming and content they wish to broadcast, subject, of course, to meeting relevant licensing and legislative obligations. It is a long-established principle that a decision about who should be invited or not invited to appear on Irish radio or television programmes is solely a matter for individual broadcasters. As the Bill could constrain broadcasters' freedom of action on decisions regarding inclusion or exclusion from programming content, the implications of the Bill in the context of freedom of expression would require further research to establish the legality of such an approach.

Another issue with the Bill is the lack of detail as to how it would work in practice. It is unclear how the regulator would determine whether a violation has occurred. For example, it is unclear whether this would have to be explicit written policy or an unwritten practice within an organisation. Furthermore, it is not clear how an investigation would initially be triggered. The Bill does not give details as to whether, for instance, such an investigation would be on foot of a complaint from a member of the public or initiated as part of the regulator's routine compliance monitoring.

I have concerns regarding the fact the Bill only specifies members of the National Union of Journalists as being able to benefit from this protection. Consequently, it may be deemed discriminatory to journalists not affiliated with this union but who are members of other recognised unions, such as journalists who are part of unions in other member states. Moreover, the Bill does not account for journalists who do not belong to a recognised union.

It must also be noted that the context in which the Bill was initiated was the ban imposed by Communicorp Media on journalists from The Currencyand The Irish Timesfrom appearing on its radio stations. As the latter of the aforementioned bans was rescinded following a change in ownership of Communicorp Media in June 2021, the Government does not consider that there is an urgent requirement in the short term for legislation of this nature. What matters more is that we get it right.

As regards the next steps, the timed amendment I am proposing asks that we take the necessary time to consider the issues and complexities that I have put forward this evening.

To reiterate, we as a Government are keenly aware of the issues raised by the Bill, and I thank the Deputy for bringing it forward and encouraging this debate. A free and pluralist media is one of the cornerstones of a modern democracy. It should quite rightly be supported. In times of crisis, freedom of expression and information and freedom of the media are vital components of the functioning of democratic societies. As I stated, the Government deems this issue of the utmost importance. We will continue to strive to foster free, open and democratic debate across all forms of media. Ireland's adoption of the resolution on the safety of journalists at a European level reinforces this statement. This timed amendment will allow for the necessary care to be taken when assessing the proposal in the Bill. I know the Deputies speaking on the Bill will make a valuable contribution to the further consideration of the proposals at the heart of the Bill.

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