Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Future patterns of media consumption are likely to be shaped by several key trends. These trends will have a significant implication for public policy. I would be grateful to hear the Minister's thoughts on the future direction of media consumption.

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The Future of Media Commission, the report of which was published in July 2022, was tasked with considering how changing trends in media consumption were affecting media in Ireland and how future funding of public service media could be made secure and sustainable.

The commission identified a long-term and sustained shift in the pattern of media consumption towards online platforms and through devices such as phones and laptops rather than traditional TV sets. This analysis is informing current media policy.

A key recommendation of the commission's report was putting in place a regulatory framework for media to ensure that it is fit for the new age of media consumption. Last December, the Online Safety and Media Regulation, OSMR, Act was enacted, which the Deputy was instrumental in developing. In March of this year, Coimisiún na Meán was formally established as the new media regulator. Deputy Dillon will know from his contributions as a member of the committee that there was incredible work done by the committee on the OSMR Act.

As as well conferring powers on Coimisiún na Meán to protect people online, an coimisiún also has a media development function which will ensure our media landscape remains pluralistic, independent and sustainable as the manner in how media is consumed continues to evolve.

One critical recommendation was for the establishment of a new media fund, through which a wider range of media outlets and platforms could be supported in the provision of public service content. While in the longer term this fund will require legislative change, in the interim, as I said earlier, I have secured €6 million in the budget to establish the fund on an administrative basis.

Priority is being given to the development of the local democracy reporting and courts reporting schemes. Detailed design and administration of these schemes is the responsibility of Coimisiún na Meán. My Department has been engaging with the European Commission on potential state aid implications, but the intention is for the schemes to be rolled out next year.

In addition, the media fund will in due course include a new digital transformation scheme, which recognises that media organisations may require assistance to innovate and transition to the digital information environment.

Coimisiún na Meán will also be an important resource for researching future patterns of media consumption and ensuring, in collaboration with my Department, that the regulatory and development framework is fit for purpose in the years ahead.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for another comprehensive response. I would add that the media landscape is becoming more complex as more of the public consume their media from different platforms. There will be a growing need for media literacy and education as a result. We can see that, around the digitalisation and the streaming services, there is a huge shift now to consuming content on demand through platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc. As legislators, we may need to address consumer competition issues. As I mentioned previously about the GAAGO streaming platform, I feel that RTÉ, as our national broadcaster, has a conflict of interests in having exclusivity around our national game. Also, if we look at how social media plays as regards user-generated content, we see a lot of media platforms not paying for content and scraping it off the publisher's website. We need to be conscious of this in an ever-changing landscape.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I have a similar supplementary question. Has the Minister noticed the extent to which pay TV seems to be introducing and forcing itself onto the airwaves? Sometimes when you scroll the channels, you get a start when you suddenly discover that you have to pay extra, along with the licence fee and all the other things, to look at certain programmes. To what extent is that likely to determine policy in the future?

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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That is the evolving nature of the consumption of media. Directly related to Deputy Dillon's question about GAAGO, ultimately, other than those events designated for broadcast as free to air, the question of which sporting events are broadcast and how they are broadcast is primarily a matter for the sports body concerned and its broadcast partner. The management of broadcast and commercial rights is a matter for each sports body. The GAA is free to enter into commercial agreements to generate revenue to support the continued development of Gaelic games from grassroots to elite levels. A challenge for sports bodies is striking a balance between generating revenue and ensuring as wide an audience as possible for games. Obviously, all of us, all sports fans, would like to see more games free to air, especially those involving our own counties. As I said before, however, it would not be practical to broadcast all matches - the championship structure changed - but it is really a matter for the organisation itself.