Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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415. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps she can take to discourage breaches of compliance with best regulatory media practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22331/21]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The monitoring of compliance with regulatory codes in relation to media is a matter for the relevant regulatory bodies and not one in which I, as Minister, have any function.

The monitoring of compliance with broadcasting codes and rules is an operational matter for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Print media is a self regulated industry with the Press Council of Ireland having responsibility for the formulation of codes of practice and addressing breaches of same.

In relation to the regulation of harmful online content, the General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill provides for the appointment of an Online Safety Commissioner as part of a wider Media Commission to oversee the new regulatory framework for online safety. The Commissioner will govern this new framework through binding online safety codes and robust compliance, enforcement and sanction powers.  Online safety codes will deal with a wide range of issues, including measures to be taken by online services to tackle the availability of harmful online content, for example cyberbullying material, on their services.  

The Bill will also transpose the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive into Irish law.  It will place the regulation of video on-demand services on a direct statutory footing and align the regulation of such services with television broadcasting services.