Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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151. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department monitors developments in the media by which it would appear that social media has become dominant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2080/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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In recognition of the importance of a sustainable Irish media sector, the Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, provided for the establishment of the Future of Media Commission, which was tasked with considering the future of print, broadcast, and online media in a platform agnostic fashion.

On 29 September 2020 the Government agreed the terms of reference and membership of the Future of Media Commission, chaired by Professor Brian MacCraith, former President of Dublin City University. The Commission members included experts in public service media, independent journalism, social media, new technology platforms, media economics, culture, language, creative content, governance and international best practice.

One of the goals of the Commission was to identify what the experience has been for public service broadcasters, other broadcasters, print and online media at local, regional and national level in delivering public service aims, and the challenges created for these media by new global platforms and changing audience preferences in relation to how content is delivered.

The Commission engaged comprehensively with stakeholders, including broadcasters, journalists, publishers, regional media, social media companies and the wider public. The first phase of the Future of Media Commission public consultation resulted in over 800 written submissions from stakeholder groups and the general public, including social media and conventional media, on a wide range of themes.

At the end of January 2021, the Commission began a series of thematic dialogues through online webinars in which panels of experts explored key themes in more depth and answered follow-up questions from the virtual audience and the Commission members. It explored many topics, including the evolving role of social media.

The work of the Future of Media Commission has now been completed and their report has been submitted to An Taoiseach and myself for consideration. It will provide a basis for media and broadcasting policy in the coming years and An Taoiseach and I are carefully considering the contents of the wide-ranging report.

Following this, the report will be brought to Cabinet for further consideration and agreement on the next steps.