Results 381-400 of 11,201 for speaker:Patrick O'Donovan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I answered that already. It was a second contract and a new contract. I felt it was more appropriate that I offer a contract, which ultimately was refused, that would coincide around the completion time of Niamh Brennan's report. At that stage, if another person or the existing person wished to apply for a position the board made available, it was entirely at their own discretion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I have answered that in the Dáil on a couple of occasions. While there can be cross-party consensus, I ultimately have to make a decision. The timing could not be worse in terms of the introduction of a levy that would impose financial sanction on companies predominantly domiciled in the United States of America. It would not make good sense, to be honest, for people in Gorey to see...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: There is evidence in the report circulated that levies would have been passed onto the consumer. Show me a Government levy that has ever been introduced in the past in this country that was not passed onto the consumer. I believe in a lot of things but fairytales are not one. When I met the streamers in the United States, I made it very clear that I am not abolishing the levy, I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: There are vulnerable adults as well, whom I also included. The definition we have discussed in the Department includes children, vulnerable adults and people with reduced capacity because they are as at risk as children. I can take it up outside the committee with the Senator.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: We have no role in GAA+ but we have a role in GAAGo. GAAGo is a joint venture run between the GAA and RTÉ. In order for the sale of an asset owned by RTÉ to proceed, it has to get the consent of the Department and me. In advance of that, it has to get consent and be scrutinised by NewERA. That work is ongoing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: No, GAAGo is owned jointly between the GAA and RTÉ.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: GAA+ is not an issue for-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: It is nothing to do with the Government or RTÉ.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: Many of the operators have invested heavily since we engaged with them. Regarding their own resilience, the biggest issue was power outages at critical pieces of infrastructure. They have now been identified and the operators have a lot of work ongoing. This is a liberalised market. We do not own the State's infrastructure - or any of the infrastructure - but we do control the regulation....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: No decision has been made on that but the more cables that come in and out of the island of Ireland and the more different routes there are, the better.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: That has not been decided but the more connectivity we get as an island, the better. Considering our nearest neighbour has now left the European Union and 90% of our traffic goes through the United Kingdom, this puts Ireland at a potential risk. There are other routes we could get to, such as Scandinavia, Germany, France and Iberia. These are all being examined.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: -----and it does not in any way diminish our connectivity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I did not say that. I do not think it in any way diminishes our connectivity that everything is currently privately owned and no decision has been made with regard to the future ownership of any cable.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: Yes, we have a plan.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: It would be very helpful if the committee were to do so. We have met most of the key stakeholders and, as I said, much of what I will ultimately want to do will require legislative change around Screen Ireland's legislation. The board is too small and there needs to be designated-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: We are ultimately talking about screens and Screen Ireland has a very good reputation internationally. It does fantastic work, especially in the United States where much of this work is domiciled. I am not fixated on the name; I am more fixated on ensuring the representative sections of the sector, including gaming and animation, are properly represented. There is much work already under...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: Yes, please do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: Yes. I met with the chairman of the Arts Council the week before last and I brought up the very issue of ensuring, in return for the €141 million that is voted from the Dáil to my Department and overseen by the committee through the Estimates and the Revised Estimate, no one is left outside the tent. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí ÉIreann should not need a separate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: The reality is the chair of the Arts Council has a job to do now. I met her in the last fortnight, along with the senior officials in my Department. There is the matter of morale in the Arts Council and the arts community too, which has undoubtedly been badly impacted by these events. We are going to try to use the summer, as much as we can, to reinvigorate morale and show the arts...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I will get to that in a second. There are a number of different ways age verification could be done and each one has its own pros and cons. The most important thing here from my perspective is that children are protected from seeing and being subjected to completely inappropriate material online.