Results 241-260 of 2,918 for speaker:Malcolm Byrne

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (18 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: 121. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide an update on education and training as well as employment provisions in Irish prisons; and his views on how these measures can work to prevent recidivism. [33089/25]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy (18 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: 125. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his priorities for the forthcoming EU budgetary negotiations, particularly with regard to the next Common Agricultural Policy. [33090/25]

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Refurbishment (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I welcome that the Minister of State indicated the stage 2b process is in its final stages. However, he knows as well as I do that the critical next step is moving to a tender so that a contractor will be appointed. With the best will in the world, even if the Minister of State announced tonight that stage 2b was complete and it was moving to tender, we would still probably be looking at...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Refurbishment (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for staying to this late hour to take this question about Coláiste Bhríde in Carnew, Wicklow. This is a progressive secondary school of almost 1,000 pupils which serves a predominantly rural area in south Wicklow as well as parts of north Wexford and south Carlow. The local community rightly takes great pride in this school. The whole school...

Finance (Local Property Tax and Other Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister for bringing forward this legislation. The bigger debate we need to have is precisely that around the funding of local authorities. It is interesting that our debate is focusing on the question of the local property tax. The Minister will be aware that the overall budget for local authorities in the country is in the order of €6.7 billion annually. We are...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: 4. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy will next meet. [29735/25]

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: Up to 25% of Ireland's coastline is facing the serious problem of coastal erosion and the proportion in counties Wicklow and Wexford is higher. The Taoiseach will be aware that I represent an area that stretches from Brittas Bay to Morriscastle. We have some of the finest beaches in the country, but many of them, most notably Courtown and Kilmichael, are in serious danger. We need to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Chair and all our witnesses, several of whom I met the last time around. Many of the same issues are coming up. I will come back to Dr. Flynn's point on what the role of media is, which is the starting point. It is a critical underpinning of our democracy and we need to see it as a public good in the same way we see health and education. That is why some of us favour a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: Forgive me, but ultimately the concept of "broadcaster", for me, is almost gone. People are looking across different media. In the case of print media, much of print is online. Most of my newspaper subscriptions are online at this stage. Is content not critical? Content is king and what we are funding is content.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I mean the concept of the "broadcaster" as a traditional broadcaster. My point is the witnesses are content creators.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I am being provocative.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: The media fund is going to be competitive, in any event, but if we were to look at recommending an increase from 7% to, say, 10% or beyond but if we allowed RTÉ and TG4 to compete, would Mr. Purcell be happy with that or would he prefer the 7% to remain?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I am conscious of time and want to move on to the whole area of artificial intelligence. It is interesting, when people are being asked about what the heads of Bill say about different aspects of it, that I just asked Copilot what the Bill says about it. It is quite interesting as it relates to performance commitments and so on. This relates to the issue Ms Veldon and Mr. Hughes raised...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I agree. My worry, being blunt, concerns the discussion about the streaming levy, which was just €20 million, and there is almost a fear about that. A lot of it was cited as geopolitics. That is what I am asking. What should be the approach by the State? Should we be doing it, and what can be done at EU level? I get the witnesses' point about, with respect, the minnows competing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I want to come back to slightly different issues within the Bill. We have not touched on the question of podcasts. This is an example of how media is changing. Broadcasters are not just broadcasters. I probably listen to more The Irish Times podcasts than I spend time actually reading articles. Obviously, a lot of the provision within this is around that. It is a critical way of media...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: Within this legislation, what about exclusive podcasts which use no other medium and are up there? I would argue the political-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I listen to Matt Cooper and Ivan Yates who regularly do shameless plugs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I am conscious of time because I want an answer from somebody on the question of the Press Council. This is very specifically provided within the legislation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Jun 2025)

Malcolm Byrne: I realise that but I will just make this final point. This is why it is crucial in regards to misinformation and disinformation. If the Press Council is admitting purveyors of misinformation or disinformation or those who are pursuing a particular political agenda - whether this is coming from the far left or far right, to be blunt - this is critical to this because this is what the...