Written answers

Tuesday, 5 October 2021

Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Online Safety

Photo of Patrick CostelloPatrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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13. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the Online Safety and Media Regulations Bill 2020; and if she plans to bring this Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas in the coming session. [47935/21]

Photo of Catherine MartinCatherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for raising the status of this vital piece of legislation. The enactment of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill is a Programme for Government commitment. It will establish a regulatory framework for online safety overseen by an Online Safety Commissioner as part of a wider multi-person Media Commission. The Bill will update the regulatory frameworks for television broadcasting and video on-demand services. It will also dissolve the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and transpose the European Union’s revised ‘Audiovisual Media Service Directive’ into Irish law.

The General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill was approved by Government on the 9th January 2020. On the 8th December 2020, the Government approved the finalisation of the General Scheme through the addition of further provisions. On 18th May 2021, the Government approved the integration of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill into the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill.

Given the importance of this legislation, I asked the Government to approve the commencement of detailed drafting of the Bill by the Office of the Attorney General and the referral of the General Scheme the Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny simultaneously. This detailed drafting process is now nearing completion and will be finalised once the pre-legislative scrutiny report has been received and analysed.

Pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media is on-going. It included oral hearings from May to July with contributions from regulators, industry, NGOS, and other affected stakeholders. I would like to acknowledge the extensive work of the Joint Oireachtas Committee in this regard and I await the publication of their pre-legislative scrutiny report. Once this has been received and there has been an assessment of its recommendations, the Bill will be brought forward for publication and enactment.

There is significant urgency attached to the enactment of the Bill, not least due to ongoing infringement proceedings against Ireland given the implementation deadline of 19 September 2020 for the revised Directive. These proceedings have recently moved to the “reasoned opinion” stage and the European Commission has noted the potential imposition of significant fines for continued non-transposition.

This underlines the absolute necessity of progressing the Bill to enactment and providing for the establishment of the Media Commission, including an Online Safety Commissioner, as soon as possible.

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