Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 54:

In page 29, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “Youth Advisory Panel

19A.(1) The Commission shall, within one year of its establishment, establish a Youth Advisory Panel, in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) The Panel shall advise the Commission on issues of interest to children and young people, on online safety, and on any other matters as the Commission may determine.

(3) The Panel shall include representatives of organisations representing children and young people, and at least 40 per cent of the members of the Panel shall be under 30 years of age.”

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit freisin.

This section of the Bill addresses the establishment of committees and sub-committees by the planned media commission. Section 19 sets out the terms of the various committees it is intended to set up. It does not specifically name some of the committees. This amendment and the subsequent amendments seek to require two specific sub-committees or panels to be established. Amendment No. 54 deals with the establishment of a youth advisory panel. Senators Warfield, Carrigy, Cassells and I sat through the deliberations of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht. We found the engagement with young people, their representatives and the schools very useful. Many of the issues the new media commission will be engaging with will have an impact directly on young people and are of direct concern to young people. Indeed, young people would be to the fore in adapting to new technologies.

Therefore, it is important that a very clear mechanism is found within the legislation to allow the commission to consult with young people and for this to be recognised at a statutory level. We are proposing the establishment of a youth advisory panel with statutory recognition as part of the legislation. It would be one of the standing committees of the commission and would have guaranteed youth representation. Young people would attend to advise on the media codes that are being drawn up on the online safety practices and the programmes of digital media literacy that the media commission will roll out. It does not preclude other forms of consultation with young people by the commission. However, having this statutory committee would be a very useful way of interacting specifically with young people. We would like to see it included so that there is statutory recognition within the legislation for a process of consultation such as this.