Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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100. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the latest work relating to the Media Commission recruitment drive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10289/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Given the importance of Coimisiún na Meán, Government has approved its establishment on an administrative basis prior to the enactment of the Bill. While Coimisiún na Meán will ultimately be funded through levies on regulated services, I secured €5.5 million in Budget 2022 in start-up funding to support the administrative establishment of An Coimisiún and enable it to hit the ground running as soon as it is formally established.

The recruitment of the senior staff who will manage An Coimisiún is a priority. Work is currently underway between my officials and officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Public Appointments Service to secure the recruitment of those staff, including the Executive Chairperson and Online Safety Commissioner, through open, transparent and effective public competitions.

As provided for by the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022, the recruitment of the Commissioners and Executive Chairperson will be carried out by the Public Appointments Service. I expect that these critical posts would be advertised in the second quarter of 2022 at the latest.