Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 7, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “ “An Coimisiún” means Coimisiún na Meán;”.

Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 seek to add the clarifying definitions that “An Coimisiún” and "Commission" refer to "Coimisiún na Meán” for the first Part of the Bill.Up until Part 3, the phrase "the Commission" refers to this, yet after that, the phrase "the Commission" refers to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, and the phrase "an Coimisiún" is instead used to refer to Coimisiún na Meán. I am aware the meaning of the phrase "the Commission" is set out in section 6 of the principal Act, namely, the Broadcasting Act. However, would it not be more consistent to simply use an coimisiún throughout the Bill to refer to Coimisiún na Meán? It is not clear why it is desirable to have a single phrase refer to multiple different bodies within the Bill when there is a clear alternative reference that would avoid confusion. Surely the phrase "an Coimisiún", if used throughout the Bill, would better avoid any conflation of the CCPC, the European Commission and Coimisiún na Meán.

I also note that in section 6 of the principal Act the official title of the media commission is in fact the Irish title, namely, Coimisiún na Meán. It is not clear, therefore, why "an coimisiún" is not an acceptable and indeed better reference to the official title.