Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

I welcome the Minister to the House and am glad of the opportunity to discuss the Broadcasting Bill 2008. This is very significant legislation and I congratulate the Minister on producing it within the first year of assuming his portfolio. The Bill seeks to revise the law relating to broadcasting services and content generally and repeals all the existing broadcasting content legislation.

The Minister's capacity for policy innovation is well recognised and on examining the legislation, it is clear that he has put his own stamp on it. The Minister has a very high regard for public service broadcasting and the important role it could and should play in public life. This is reflected in the provisions of the Bill, whereby a statutory and legal framework is put in place for the broadcasting sector that recognises the special character of public service broadcasting, provides appropriate supports for it but also has legitimate expectations of that sector. The Minister's well-recognised business acumen means he sees the need for the public service broadcasting sector to provide value for money and the Bill recognises this by requiring it to be financially accountable and to function in an increasingly competitive environment.

It is clear the Minister wants to encourage healthy competition to the sector. The Bill very clearly sets out and defines the different sectors, commercial, community and public service, and attempts to cater for the very specific needs of each sector and succeeds very well in that regard.

The Minister is also known for his consistent promotion of high ethical standards in public life and some of the provisions of this Bill reflect that commitment. The measures dealing with the systems of appointment to the new structures within the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and those relating to disclosure of interests are clear examples in this regard. These provisions will help to ensure the integrity, transparency and public confidence in the system.

The Minister has great imagination and confidence and in that context, I wish to refer to a number of measures in the Bill which reflect these attributes. All Members of the Oireachtas will benefit from the provision of a free-to-air television service in respect of the proceedings of both Houses. To include such a provision took a certain amount of confidence on the Minister's part. There is a popular perception that the proceedings of the Houses of the Oireachtas should be aired only late at night by the public service broadcaster because there is such a lack of public interest in those dull proceedings. I do not believe that is the case. It will present a challenge to those who provide the service to do so in such a way that they engage the public's attention. I commend the Minister on including that provision in the Bill. It is up to us to perform well in the Houses of the Oireachtas, to be well prepared and so forth, in order that when members of the public tune it, they see people who are capable of discussing the issues of the day and dealing with complex legislative issues in a way that they can understand and relate to.

Another very innovative measure in the Bill is the creation of the free-to-air Irish film and television channel. I commend the Minister on this provision. One of the provisions of the Lisbon treaty deals with measures for member states who wish to protect their cultural and audiovisual services.

There is a recognition in international trade negotiations that the broadcasting sector is especially vulnerable, as is the general cultural sector. There is a saturation of these sectors largely by American produced programme content. There are special provisions in the Lisbon treaty to protect the unique cultures of all the member states of the European Union. The particular measure the Minister has inserted in the Bill providing for the Irish Film Board to establish a free-to-air Irish film television channel will do just that. It will broadcast largely Irish film work and it will ensure there will be a platform and an opportunity for Irish film makers to present their films and cultural products to the Irish public.

I congratulate the Minister on the broadcasting fund and grant scheme. It will be made up of a certain percentage of the revenue from the television licence scheme. That is a positive and innovative development, which I welcome.

The Bill seeks to establish a broadcasting content regulator to be known as the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland which will perform the existing functions of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, but it will also undertake new functions. One of the important ones it will undertake, which relates to my earlier point, is the oversight of public funding to the public service broadcasters. There is a strong public demand for this. The public have no difficulty in public service broadcasters being generously supported by the State as long as there is clear oversight of the expenditure of the revenue that is given to them. The Bill will ensure that. It also revises the statutory basis for the television licence, which was due.

Another innovative measure of the Bill I welcome is the proposal that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland should be funded primarily by way of a levy on the broadcasting sector. This is right and proper. If the Bill, once enacted, is successful in its objectives, it will deliver much better outcomes for the operators within the broadcasting sector. It is not unreasonable to ask that the broadcasting sector would support the creation and maintenance of this regulatory authority.

In terms of other provisions, the Bill provides for a clear definition of commercial, community and public service broadcasters and their role. This is important, especially as far as the community broadcasting sector is concerned. This is a growing sector, which to a certain extent has been neglected and overlooked in official terms, possibly because of its newness. The Minister showed great foresight in setting out a very clear role for the community broadcasting sector and putting supports in place for it.

Sections 5 to 7, inclusive, provide for the establishment of the broadcasting authority of Ireland. There is a sensible separating out of the different functions of that new authority and its two statutory committees, the contract awards committee and the compliance committee. The Minister, who is committed to ethical standards being integrated into the Bill, has made sure that it sets out procedures for the appointment of the memberships of the broadcasting authority and its two statutory committees.

I welcome, as Senator Mullen said, the inclusion of the advice of the Oireachtas joint committee with responsibility for broadcasting matters in the nomination of some of the members of these structures. It allows for all-party input, which is a welcome departure from practices in the past, but it also recognises the expertise of the relevant Oireachtas committee. It also sets down specific and necessary provisions on the experience that people require to be nominated to the board, the terms and conditions of membership and procedures for removal, suspension or exclusion from membership. All these provisions are important.

Several sections deal with disclosure of interest, codes of conduct and so on, which are welcome. The independence of the authority is also ensured because section 30 empowers the Minister to issue policy communications to the broadcasting authority, but while the Minister's communications must be considered by the authority, they do not bind it. This section excludes the functions of the contract awards committee and the compliance committee, which is right and proper.

The Minister also mentioned the issue of excessive regulation. The Bill rightly requires the broadcasting authority and its statutory committees to review the regulatory burden they impose on broadcasters, which will ensure the level of regulation is as light as it should be.

I congratulate the Minister on a well-thought out, comprehensive and innovative Bill in the important area of broadcasting. I am confident the broadcasting sector in Ireland will be well served by this Bill, once enacted. It anticipates the challenges of the future in the broadcasting sector and makes imaginative provision for those. I commend the Minister on the Bill.