Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 112:

In page 52, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:

“(ba) in relation to broadcasters only—

(i) that the broadcast programme material, taken as a whole—

(I) adequately reflects the participation, and

(II) is responsive to the interests, of members of all groups (defined by reference to gender, sexual orientation, disability, colour and socio-economic status) within the community,

(ii) that, in relation to broadcast news and current affairs programmes, taken as a whole, there is equal participation by men and women,

(iii) that, in relation to the amount of broadcasting time allocated to broadcasting of music content—

(I) at least 50 per cent of such time is reserved for the broadcast of musical compositions that are composed or performed by women, and

(II) at least 30 per cent of such time is reserved for the broadcast of musical compositions that are composed or performed by persons living on the island of Ireland or that otherwise relate to some distinguishing element of the culture of the island of Ireland,”.

This amendment relates to the media service codes. The codes are designed to protect the interests of the audience and prevent harmful or offensive material. We see it as being important here, as we do in other areas of the Bill, that we use the codes to promote certain outcomes.

We have an especially significant issue with gender bias and a lack of diversity, intentional or otherwise, across Irish radio stations. The reality is that current affairs in particular - and all of us in the House tune into current affairs programmes - are very much anchored by the male voice, even though the listenership for mid-morning talk shows is composed of a higher proportion of women than men. A number of studies have been conducted by the Why Not Her? collective, by Dr. Kathy Walsh and Dr. Jane Suiter of DCU and by Orla O'Connor of the National Women's Council of Ireland. They show that across all current affairs programmes, with respect to both presenters and contributors, the male voice is represented to the tune of 70%; only 28% of time is given to the female voice. We see that as a significant issue that could be overhauled and changed by inserting a quota within the legislation. It specifies not just gender but also sexual orientation, disability, colour and socioeconomic status to ensure the broadcast material reflects the participation and interests of the audience. With regard to current affairs programmes and broadcast news, we propose that there be equal participation of men and women.

There is also a significant issue dating back a number of years with not just the spoken word but also with the time given over to musical content and how much of it features female performers relative to male performers. We believe there is a need for a quota in that regard and that it should be 50%.

The final quota we are trying to insert concerns reserving broadcast time for compositions composed or performed by persons living on the island of Ireland. This goes back to a Bill which former Deputy Willie Penrose put forward a number of years ago and which received enormous support, especially from the traditional music sector. We believe that with traditional music, or any other genre of music that is under-represented in terms of airplay time across the radio stations, a threshold or quota needs to be inserted.

There has been a greater awareness of these issues and of the lack of diversity with respect to whose music is being played, who is presenting programmes or who is participating. To be fair, some radio stations have made efforts in recent years. We must again give credit to the Why Not Her? collective that has done so much work in this space to try to bring attention to that imbalance. It is important to highlight the likes of Tipp FM, SPIN FM, 2FM, 98FM and WLR FM, which I will be killed if I do not mention. These have made significant changes to both spoken word and music content. Other radio stations need to follow suit, but we do not believe those changes will happen organically. Something needs to be inserted into legislation to ensure that we can nudge radio stations along to ensure we have greater equality in what we are listening to.