Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State . I also welcome the legislation.

As the Minister of State outlined, the Bill extends the levy-raising powers of Coimisiún na Meán and the CCPC to allow them to fund new enforcement functions under the Digital Services Act 2024 and the terrorist content online regulation. The aforementioned Act designated Coimisiún na Meán as the lead competent authority of the EU digital services regulation, known as the digital services co-ordinator, and the CCPC as the competent authority with responsibility for oversight of obligations in the digital services regulation that apply only to providers of online marketplace services. Coimisiún na Meán was also designated as a competent authority for overseeing the implementation of specific measures of the EU regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online, known as the terrorist content online regulation.

Coimisiún na Meán already has the power to raise a levy, provided for in section 21 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, as inserted by section 8 of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022. However, that power is confined to levying those cohorts of service providers that came within an coimisiun's existing competence under the Broadcasting Act 2009, as amended. These cohorts do not match exactly the type of service providers now regulated by Coimisiún na Meán in its capacity as the digital services co-ordinator. Similarly, they do not necessarily cover the group of hosting service providers within the scope of the terrorist content online regulation. As a result, this legislation is needed to extend Coimisiún na Meán's power to enable it to levy those service providers in scope of both the digital services regulation and the terrorist content online regulation.

It was essential that significant funding be provided to Coimisiún na Meán in order for it to effectively carry out its responsibilities. The Government did that when it allocated €2.7 million in budget 2023 to Coimisiún na Meán to support the establishment of the regulatory function under the digital services regulation and in budget 2024 when it allocated a total of €6 million to allow an coimisiún to complete preparations and capacity-building and support initial operations from February of this year. That Government support and funding has been essential in enabling Coimisiún na Meán to start off in a positive manner, as it has done by already making a significant impact with several notable goals met in the early stages of its existence. These include: development of a strong new compliance framework; establishment of a co-operation agreement with international bodies; setting up of an instant response protocol; and establishment of common assessment and certification processes and of engagement mechanisms with the public, including a content centre for complaints, as required under the digital services regulation.

Coimisiún na Meán also plays an important role at European level in the consistent and effective implementation of the digital services regulation in the EU. It is widely acknowledged by other European DSCs and the European Commission that Coimisiún na Meán is at the forefront of DSCs in Europe. It was one of only six legally designated and fully empowered DSCs at the inaugural meeting of the new European Board for Digital Services on 19 February last.Of course, this is only the beginning. The responsibilities of Coimisiún na Meán will continue to grow in the years ahead and it is essential that the Government continues to provide funding for Coimisiún na Meán so it can build its resources and will be fully capable of meeting the demands placed on it.

I welcome and fully support this legislation, which is clearly necessary. I thank the officials for their work.