James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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31. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will outline when the Public Consultation on Designation of Major Sporting Events will be completed; does she anticipate much additional sporting events to be added to the list; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23659/23]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The designation of events as free to air is a statutorily prescribed process which takes place under Part 11 of the Broadcasting Act and Article 14 of the 2010 Audio-Visual Media Services Directive. The public consultations which are undertaken are the initial steps in the process. The first consultation is complete, having had an initial four-week public consultation to identify events that should be further considered for designation as free-to-air.

On completion of the first public consultation I decided that a full, uninterrupted sporting year should take place before taking any further steps in the process. Allowing sporting bodies to get back on their feet following the years of Covid restrictions allows a more realistic assessment of the financial impacts of designation.

Events proposed for consultation will be published in the coming weeks and will allow for a 4 to 5 week consultation period to enable the public submit their views on the list of events for consideration.

Alongside this, my Department will consult with sporting bodies and broadcasters to take account of their views on the matter. A detailed, independent evaluation taking account of the potential financial impacts on sporting bodies and the extent to which proposed events align with the European criteria, will also be commissioned.

On completion of these stages towards the end of this year, my Department will engage with the European Commission to seek approval for the proposed events.

Finally, a draft Order listing the events will be laid before, and approved by, each House of the Oireachtas. Given the necessary steps involved in the designation process, it is not possible to put a definitive timescale on its completion.

As the final list of events to be designated will be determined by the necessary consultations and assessments set out, I am not in a position to speculate on the number of additional sporting events to be added to the list.