Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 243: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the provisions in the Broadcasting (Funding) Act 2003 to ring-fence moneys for funding programmes produced by the independent sector; the sums of money which have been identified for such programming to date; the works which have been commissioned; if the scheme has attracted the attention of EU scrutiny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14300/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The purpose of the Broadcasting (Funding) Act 2003 was to establish a special fund to encourage private and public broadcasters to include additional programming of a particular character in their programme schedules. The Act provided that the 5% of the net proceeds of the television licence fee should be paid into the fund from 2003 onwards. At the end of April 2005, almost €20.5 million had been paid into the fund. The legislation, enacted in December 2003, provided that the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland would have responsibility for drawing up schemes through which the fund could be accessed. During the course of 2004, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland developed and published a draft scheme and consulted widely on it. However, before the scheme can become operational, two formal approvals are required.

Under section 2(1) of the Act, the commission is required to submit a draft scheme to me for approval. The draft scheme was formally submitted for approval to the Department by the commission in December 2004. EU Regulations 659/1999 and 794/2004 require Ireland to formally notify the EU Commission of all aid schemes to ensure compatibility with EU state aid and competition rules. To this end, a copy of the draft scheme was sent to the Commission in mid-January to seek their initial views. Towards the end of March, the Commission indicated that it did not see any major problems with the scheme.

Accordingly, my Department proceeded to formally notify the Commission. Under the procedural regulations, the EU Commission has two months to make a decision, although this period may be extended with the consent of the member state concerned. I await the outcome of the Commission's deliberations.