Results 3,201-3,220 of 7,556 for speaker:Catherine Martin

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Equal Opportunities Employment (17 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: My Department is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for all staff and strives to create a culture where employees feel comfortable in sharing their disability. This ensures any reasonable accommodations can be met, if required. All employees are provided with the opportunity to request any reasonable accommodations and/or voluntarily share their disability status...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Artists' Remuneration (17 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: The issues raised by the Deputy relate primarily to the manner in which social welfare schemes assess income from other sources. It is important to emphasise that eligibility for social welfare supports is a matter for the Minister for Social Protection and I do not have any statutory function in that regard. However, I can assure the Deputy that the issue of disabled artists participating...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Tourism Funding (17 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: As the Deputy is aware, the tourism sector has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic so I was pleased to secure a record level of funding for tourism in Budget 2022 of €288.5 million in total, an increase of €67.5 million over the 2021 allocation. The allocation includes a €35 million increase to the Tourism Marketing Fund to support the delivery of a marketing...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Museum Projects (17 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: As the Deputy will be aware, the Natural History Museum was built in the 19thcentury. While this means that the building has wonderful character, it also brings with it structural and environmental issues that do not arise in contemporary buildings. The museum has hardly changed in the last 166 years and is now showing its age. Under the National Development Plan, Government has committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Fuel Sales (17 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: While I have had no engagements with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on this topic, my officials have made enquiries and have been advised that the new regulations on the use of solid fuels in Ireland are to apply to solid fuels that are placed on the market for heating in residential and licensed premises. Minister Ryan has further confirmed that this will not...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rental Sector (17 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: Action 20.4 of Housing for All, the Government's housing plan to 2030, commits to the development of "new regulatory controls requiring short-term and holiday lets to register with Fáilte Ireland with a view to ensuring that houses are used to best effect in areas of housing need”. Funding was allocated in Budget 2022 to Fáilte Ireland which has been tasked with the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Artists' Remuneration (12 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: I am aware of the meeting my officials held with the organisation referred to by the Deputy. The issues raised relate primarily to the manner in which social welfare schemes assess income from other sources. It is important to emphasise that eligibility for social welfare supports is a matter for the Minister for Social Protection and I do not have any statutory function in that regard....

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: Section 32 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, as amended by section 7 of the Bill, provides that an coimisiún may enter into co-operation agreements with a body established in the State. As I said when speaking to amendment No. 26, this section will enable an coimisiún to engage with a range of body within the State if it will assist an coimisiún to discharge its functions. The...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: I thank the Senator for the amendments and acknowledge her expertise in the area of data protection. Section 33 of the Broadcasting Act, as inserted by the Bill, is intended to specify the circumstances under which, and the bodies to which, the commission may disclose personal data. I believe that the intention of amendment No. 75 has been captured in section 33(2) of the Broadcasting Act,...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: As I have outlined, I am willing to come back on Report Stage with regard to amendments Nos. 80 and 81. I do not propose to accept amendments Nos. 75 to 79, inclusive. With regard to the expert group, I hope to receive the report in the next week. I will then need to consider it. If we go by the amount of time the group was given to do its work, then its report is due shortly.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: I thank the Senators for amendments Nos. 82 and 83. The amendments appear to have the same effect in preventing the commission from co-operating with groups in the establishments of standards or self-regulatory systems. I wish to point out that it will always remain open for people to complain to the commission under the relevant media service codes and rules. Section 34 of the...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: The commission will have a strong role in regulating commercial communications, including advertisement, through the media service codes which will be binding on video-on-demand services and broadcasting services and through online safety codes which will be binding on designated online services. As I said, I cannot accept these amendments that would appear to contradict the Audiovisual...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: In the context of amendment No. 84, I would be concerned that as it is drafted it would have the unintended consequence of preventing an employee of an coimisiún from seeking to influence any considerations of an coimisiún regarding the contract of that employee. This would seem to prevent employees from representing their interests to their employer, namely, an coimisiún....

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: Section 37 (2)(a) and (2)(b), which the Senator is seeking to delete, are about a person’s contract with an coimisiún; they are not about the requirements of disclosure regarding a person’s activities in terms of an employment contract. It is about a person’s contract; it is not about the requirements for disclosure.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: Yes, they have a duty in the context of disclosure. This section is about a person's contract.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: I thank the Senator for bringing forward this amendment, which would have the effect of obliging all public bodies engaged in the distribution of State monies for the production, screening and broadcasting of audiovisual or sound content to ensure that funds are distributed equitably and proportionately throughout the whole island of Ireland, with particular regard to the need for regional...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: As I said, I appreciate the intent but I just cannot accept the amendment as drafted because there are a few fundamental issues with it.If the Senator wants to have a discussion with my officials about what he is trying to achieve, that could be done because there are a number of complex issues - even about the role of the commission in this and what the Senator is trying to achieve. I am...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: Again, I understand the intention behind this amendment and take the point that it can be very troubling for people living on the island of Ireland, be they Irish citizens or not, to watch their public service broadcasters and seeing their part of the island of Ireland effectively blacked out or removed. However, I would be concerned about accepting an amendment that would be so prescriptive...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: Section 46A(6) of the Broadcasting Act, as amended by section 8, requires an coimisiún to publish the register of video-on-demand services established in Ireland on its own website. Amendment No. 90 would require the commission to furnish a copy of this register to the relevant Oireachtas committee annually. I am not sure I see the value in this amendment, given that the register will...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Catherine Martin: I thank the Senator for her amendment. The figure of €2 million is derived from the definition of a media business set out in Part 3A of the Competition Act 2002, as amended, which provides for the media mergers framework. For reasons of consistency and proportionality, I believe that we should continue to use this figure and cannot accept the amendment.