James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

551. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he intends to list the Six Nations tournament as a designated event that must be carried free to air; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3473/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The designation of major sporting and cultural events for free to air broadcasting is a statutory process, provided for under the Broadcasting Act, with the criteria for deciding which events should be designated set out in the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

This allows Member States to designate certain events as being of major importance to society, including sports events involving national teams, and provide that those events continue to be available on free-to-air television. The legislative provision in this regard provides for periodic reviews of the list of designated events.

A review of the existing list of designated events, including the Six Nations current status of deferred coverage, is currently underway. The review process included a public consultation to invite feedback on a number of potential new events across rugby, Gaelic games and soccer, to be considered for free to air designation. Stakeholders such as broadcasters and sports bodies have also been consulted.

An independent consultant was procured to analyse the results of the public consultation and any submissions received. This analysis includes an assessment of each of the proposed events against the criteria for designation which are set out in EU and domestic legislation, as well as determining the potential impact of the designation. A key consideration in this is the balancing of the costs of designating an event to sporting organisations, against the benefits to society.

This process also requires engagement with the European Commission before the final list of proposed events for designation can be approved. Until that point, the existing list of designated events will remain in force, and it would not be appropriate for me to pre-empt the completion of the review and analysis of the various stakeholder contributions.