Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Support to the community media sector is primarily made available through the Sound and Vision Scheme, administered by Coimisiún na Meán, which provides funding for content as well as training and outreach activities. Social Benefit funding targeted at the community media sector is a significant new innovation within the Sound and Vision Scheme which I welcome.

Over the past three years these targeted rounds have provided almost €1.9 million in funding to the community broadcasting sector, together with a further €1.19 million in awards from general Sound and Vision funding rounds.

Next year, Round 52 will open in January, when up to €750k in funding will be available for community broadcasters. This will be the largest ever amount of funding ring-fenced for a dedicated Community Radio funding round, demonstrating the ongoing commitment to support the sector.

The Future of Media Commission recommended that a new Community Media Scheme be established as part of the wider Media Fund. I remain committed to implementing the Future of Media Commission recommendations, including the new Media Fund schemes. The Media Fund has been established on an administrative basis, with Local Democracy and Court Reporting Schemes currently being designed by Coimisiún na Meán for delivery in 2024. , including community radio. An Coimisiún will in due course also undertake the necessary research and consultation in order to design a new community media scheme.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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49. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the increase provided for in the estimates for 2025 in funding for TG4 and RTÉ respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45689/23]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Additional funding of €4.8 million was allocated to TG4 as part of Budget 2024, bringing the total allocation for next year to €57.033 million. TG4 has been provided with substantial additional resources under my term as Minister, with a total increase of €19.8m in funding being provided over the lifetime of this Government. This is a 53% increase on the level of funding TG4 had in 2020.

The additional funding will support TG4 in the delivery of their 2023 - 2027 strategy, and ensuring the provision of high-quality Irish language audio-visual content. This investment also provides for the consolidation of the new Cúla4 service, which I launched last month and will enable the commissioning of additional content for children as a priority audience for the broadcaster. I will continue to support TG4 as it grows its content, schedule and audience, and as it continues to support increased use of Irish in our day-to-day lives.

As recommended by the Future of Media Commission, and underpinned by the more recent NewERA analysis, the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and I have acknowledged the need to provide interim funding of €16 million to RTÉ. As I stated last week, this is being dealt with post budget, while any further interim funding, required as a result of declining TV licence revenues, will be considered later in the year when we receive RTÉ’s Strategic Vision addressing reform, the rebuilding of the organisation and critically, public trust.