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

Amendment No. 169 would have the effect of requiring coimisiún na meán to deposit a record of consultations undertaken prior to the designation of a relevant online service with the Minister and to lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas. I understand amendment No. 71 sought to achieve a similar effect. As referenced by the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, in response to that amendment, it is not usual practice to lay internal records of the processes and activities of public bodies before the Oireachtas, nor for the Oireachtas Library to store such materials.

I understand the intention of the amendment is to ensure an coimisiún is transparent in respect of those persons it seeks to consult. However, as a public body, an coimisiún will be subject to appropriate transparency and accountability requirements, including to the joint Oireachtas committee. The principle of transparency is satisfied by the requirement for the commission to be accountable to the Oireachtas. As set out in the Bill, the executive chairperson and the commissioners will be accountable to the joint Oireachtas committee in respect of their functions, while the executive chairperson will additionally be accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts in respect of the finances and value-for-money practices of an coimisiún. The decisions of an coimisiún as regards the making of media service codes, rules and online safety codes are also subject to a clear public consultation process. Furthermore, details of those decisions must be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, where they may be subject to a negative resolution procedure. As a regulator, an coimisiún will necessarily be in contact with regulated entities on a regular basis regarding the regulation of those entities. I expect an coimisiún to undertake all such contact appropriately and to be transparent in how it does so. Accordingly, I do not intend to accept the amendment.

Amendment No. 170 would require the contact details of the person or persons designated as responsible for online safety at the named service to be entered into the public register of designated online services. Under section 139J of the Broadcasting Act 2009, as inserted by this Bill, an coimisiún is required to maintain a register of such services, which shall include the address of the provider and any other information the commission considers appropriate about how the provider may be contacted by members of the public. This provision will achieve a similar effect to the Senator's amendment. Therefore, I will not be accepting the amendment.