Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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1081. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his views on the need to diversify the commissioning of content to include providers other than RTÉ; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18822/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The provision of content by the independent production sector has been a key element of public service broadcasting in Ireland for many years, and our two national public service broadcasters commission a significant element of their content from the sector.

In particular TG4, as a publisher broadcaster, commissions the vast majority of its content from the independent sector, and as such plays a significant role in supporting and nurturing the sector, and especially the Irish language creative sector. RTÉ also commission a significant amount of programming, with a statutory obligation to spend a specific amount annually. In order to further strengthen the role of independent production, I proposed an amendment to the Broadcasting Act which will require RTÉ to spend at least 25% of its public funding on independently produced content. This was recently approved by Government and is included in the revised General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill.

The Sound and Vision Scheme, administered by Coimisiún na Meán and funded through the Broadcasting Fund, also provides valuable support to the Irish independent production sector. In 2024, over €22.7m in funding was awarded to support 210 television and radio projects.

In addition, the independent production sector receives further supports through Screen Ireland and the section 481 film tax credit. I will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the independent production sector continues to be appropriately supported in the longer term.