Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for his amendments. Amendment No. 14 to the new section 7(2)(c) of the Broadcasting Act 2009 proposed in section 7 of the Bill deletes a reference to the languages and traditions of the people of the island and Ireland and replaces it with a reference to "the duty not only to satisfy existing demand but to stimulate increased demand for Irish language programming and content, in line with the national aim of restoring the Irish language as a spoken language nationwide". I am not sure that was the intended effect of the amendment. It may have been intended to amend the new section 7(2)(d), which provides that an coimisiún shall, in performing its functions, endeavour to ensure that regulatory arrangements address various matters. I am not in favour of deleting the reference to the languages and traditions of the people of the island of Ireland. That is an important provision in the new section 7(2)(c) as it is important that the policies of an coimisiún in relation to broadcasting and video on-demand services bear in mind all of the diverse languages and traditions on our island. I cannot accept amendment No. 14.

Amendment No. 22 amends section 7(3)(d) of the Broadcasting Act 2009, as amended by section 7 of the Bill. This section currently provides that an coimisiún shall:

promote and stimulate the development of—

(i) programmes in the Irish language, and

(ii) programmes relating to climate change and environmental sustainability

The amendment would change the words "promote and stimulate" to "ensure and increase the development and provision of" such programmes. I am strongly in favour of increasing the availability of Irish language programming. That is why I allocated additional funding to TG4. In budget 2021, I secured an additional €3.5 million and, in budget 2022, I secured an additional €4.2 million for TG4. As regards the role of an coimisiún, I am satisfied that the language of promoting and encouraging is sufficient to ensure the production of programming in the Irish language. I am worried that the replacing the term "promote and stimulate" with "ensure and increase" would imply that an coimisiún, as regulator, could impinge on the editorial independence of a broadcaster or video on-demand service in a manner not set out in the Broadcasting Act 2009. I do not propose to accept the amendment.

Amendment No. 23 amends section 7(3)(e) of the Broadcasting Act 2009, as amended by section 7 of the Bill, to require an coimisiún to promote and encourage increased use of the Irish language in the policies and practices of broadcasting, video on-demand and relevant online services. I am conscious that the amendment would apply not only to broadcasting and video on-demand services, but also to relevant online services. As set out in section 3(2)(t) of the Bill, a relevant online service may be any information society service. This covers a vast array of technology companies from Internet service providers to social media services. Relevant online services are effectively the pool of services that, following an appropriate risk analysis, an coimisiún may designate for regulation and the application of online safety codes. I am concerned about the impact of this amendment on services whose content is primarily user-generated and on relevant online services that may be less likely to be designated for regulation, such as Internet service providers. I do not think the impact of this amendment is clear, although I understand its intention. I do not propose to accept it today but I will ask my officials to reflect further on it.

Amendment No. 30 has the effect of providing that an coimisiún may undertake strategic reviews of the sectors it regulates in respect of broadcasting in the Irish language. I again propose not to accept the amendment today but to consider it in the context of Report Stage.

Amendment No. 228 proposes to amend the Title of the Bill to insert the words “to increase the visibility and use of Irish as a spoken language in media and public life and ensure a diversity of content for the Irish-speaking community;”.The amendment amends the Title, stating that an objective of the Bill is “to increase the visibility and use of Irish as a spoken language in media and public life and ensure a diversity of content for the Irish-speaking community;”. Any proposals to amend the Title of a Bill must be considered carefully. For that reason I do not propose to accept the amendment today but will return to it on Report Stage.