Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (Deputy Niamh Smyth)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time".

I am pleased to introduce the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2026 for the consideration of the House on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan. This Bill is a comprehensive legislative proposal which aims to improve transparency, accountability and value-for-money in our public service media providers, RTÉ and TG4, and to put in place a statutory framework to support the provision of quality programming and public interest journalism within a secure and sustainable media ecosystem.

The Bill implements the key legislative recommendations of two recent major expert-led independent reports: the report of the Future of Media Commission, published in July 2022, and the review of governance and culture in RTÉ carried out by an expert advisory committee chaired by Professor Niamh Brennan, published in May 2024.

The Future of Media Commission was tasked with developing recommendations on sustainable public funding and other supports to ensure media in Ireland remains sustainable, independent and capable of delivering public service aims. Fourteen of its recommendations will be given effect through the Bill.

The expert advisory committee chaired by Professor Brennan was commissioned to examine the corporate governance failings in RTÉ in July 2023, following the revelations regarding presenter payments and other governance failings. The expert advisory committee delivered a roadmap for the reform of corporate governance in RTÉ. While many of the 90 recommendations were for RTÉ to introduce, eight required legislative change. They have been given effect in the Bill, including, most importantly, the assignment of the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ.

The Bill also implements those elements of the European Media Freedom Act which relate to the safeguarding of our public service media providers, RTÉ and TG4. The European Media Freedom Act is a landmark piece of EU legislation designed to protect the independence and plurality of media services across the Union. It is vital that we implement it fully as soon as possible, particularly in the context in which Ireland will take up the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Pre-legislative scrutiny has played an important role in the development of the Bill. I would like to acknowledge the work of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, which demonstrated the vital role that pre-legislative scrutiny plays in our legislative process. The Bill takes account of over 30 of the recommendations made by the committee as part of its pre-legislative scrutiny.

The Bill provides for reforms in RTÉ and TG4 across five key areas. First, the Bill will reform the statutory basis underpinning the corporate governance of RTÉ and TG4. Second, the Bill will enhance the statutory framework through which Coimisiún na Meán assesses the performance and funding of RTÉ and TG4. The Bill provides for greater transparency on remuneration of staff and relevant contractors by RTÉ and TG4 and reporting on the commissioning of independent producers, including information on the total cost of production in monetary bands and percentage of the Exchequer contribution. The Bill will strengthen the role and authority of the audience councils of RTÉ and TG4. The Bill will also extend content regulation by Coimisiún na Meán to all non-broadcast content made available by RTÉ and TG4.

While our public service media providers are important, we also need to sustain an assortment of content provided by a diversity of providers on local, regional and national levels. To support this type of public service content, the new framework for public service content set out in the Bill will convert the existing broadcasting fund to a platform-neutral fund known as Ciste na Meán. This expanded fund will support the production, distribution and archiving of public service content across all formats by the wider media sector. In addition to the new framework for supporting public service content, the Bill will also require RTÉ to dedicate at least 25% of its annual public funding to the commissioning of programming from the independent production sector.

The Bill is composed of three Parts. Part 2 of the Bill provides the entirety of the substantive amendments to the Broadcasting Act 2009 while Part 3 provides for a necessary technical amendment to the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 to allow for the assignment of that office as auditor of RTÉ.

I will outline the detailed provisions of the Bill focusing in particular on the key sections of the Bill. I turn first to the corporate governance of RTÉ and TG4. Sections 35, 41 and 62 of the Bill provide for the assignment of the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ and for the accountability of the director general to the Committee of Public Accounts in respect of RTÉ's annual audited financial statements and value-for-money matters. Sections 32 and 33 of the Bill clarify and expand provisions relating to the functions, duties, accountability, appointment and dismissal of directors general of RTÉ and TG4. Section 32 provides that a director general is expressly accountable to the board for the efficient and effective management of the provider and the performance of his or her functions and expressly prohibits them from taking part in any board deliberations regarding their own performance, removal or replacement. Section 33 clarifies a range of matters relating to the role of director general as editor-in-chief for their provider, following on from the principles set out in the European Media Freedom Act. Under the section, a director general will be vested with the editorial functions of a provider in terms of determining the providers' overall editorial policies, standards and priorities. In this context it is important to note that both RTÉ and TG4 will continue to be accountable to Coimisiún na Meán as regulator for their adherence to these duties and any media service codes made by Coimisiún na Meán. This provision aims to balance editorial independence with accountability to an independent regulator.

Section 33 of the Bill also gives effect to Article 5 of the European Media Freedom Act by setting out in detail the requirements for an open and transparent process for the appointment and, in certain specified circumstances, removal of a director general. The Government will no longer have a role in consenting to the appointment of a director general. However, the approval of the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport and Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation will still be required to determine the remuneration and terms and conditions of employment of the DG. Given the seriousness of a decision to dismiss a DG, the section provides that a board must provide the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport with a statement of the decision and reasons for it, which must be laid before the Oireachtas.

In line with the recommendations of the expert advisory committee on governance and culture in RTÉ, sections 25 to 31 of the Bill clarify and expand provisions relating to the functions, duties, role and necessary expertise of the boards and board committees of RTÉ and TG4. In particular, sections 25 and 30 clearly set out and separate the functions of the boards on one hand and the duties of board members on the other. The duties in section 30 now include duties equivalent to those of a company director under the Companies Act 2014, an additional duty to represent the interests of the people of the island of Ireland and of Irish communities outside the island of Ireland, and a duty of confidentiality.

Section 44 of the Bill provides for the enhanced mechanism for assessing the performance and appropriate funding of RTÉ and TG4, which is based on the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission and requirements of the European Media Freedom Act. Under the framework, Coimisiún na Meán will assess and appraise the funding needs of and determine detailed performance targets for RTÉ and TG4 every three years. The first of these three-yearly appraisals is to be submitted to the Minister for onward submission to the Government by 30 June 2027 and cover the period 2028 to 2030. This replaces the current approach, under which Coimisiún na Meán appraises funding needs every five years and the public service media providers set out their own performance commitments. Section 44 of the Bill provides that the three-year appraisal will be underpinned by a detailed methodology which will be published by Coimisiún na Meán following a public consultation. This methodology is intended to provide clear guidance to RTÉ and TG4 in making submissions to Coimisiún an Meán as part of the three-yearly appraisal. The first three-year methodology will be published by the end of January 2027.

Section 44 also strengthens the yearly review process undertaken by Coimisiún na Meán, which will now be required to carry out two annual reviews. The first, due on 30 June of each year, will focus on the degree to which RTÉ and TG4 met their performance targets and received adequate funding for the previous year in line with the European Media Freedom Act. The second, due on 31 October of each year, will examine compliance with various State aid requirements, such as the separate accounting of public service and commercial revenues and expenditure.

In terms of enhanced transparency, the Bill provides for additional reporting obligations on RTÉ and TG4 in respect of employee and contractor remuneration and commissioning activities. Section 43 of the Bill requires RTÉ and TG4 to disclose information on the remuneration of staff and relevant contractors in monetary bands, which shall be determined by the Minister. As the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, has said, this is an area he will consider further and, if necessary, will bring forward proposals to strengthen obligations on transparency and reporting obligations in this area, which will require engagement with the Data Protection Commission. Section 43 provides that RTÉ must disclose additional information in its annual report on the commissioning of independent productions.

This will include the total cost of each production in monetary bands which shall be determined by the Minister and the public contribution to the cost of production as a percentage of the total cost of production. Section 48 of the Bill will require TG4 to provide this information annually for the first time. Given the large sums of public moneys expended in this area, this transparency is both appropriate and necessary.

Sections 36 to 39, inclusive, of the Bill will strengthen the role and independence of the audience councils of RTÉ and TG4, following the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission. The audience councils were introduced in the Broadcasting Act 2009 and are intended to represent the views of the people of the island of Ireland to the boards of RTÉ and TG4. The Bill will expand the role of the audience councils by: providing for the statutory independence of the audience councils of RTÉ and TG4; requiring the selection of diverse members of both councils by Coimisiún na Meán following an open and transparent public competition; providing that an audience council may, in addition to the required annual report, prepare a special report; and requiring RTÉ and TG4 to respond to both annual and special reports prepared by their audience councils.

Sections 15 to 19, inclusive, and 21 to 23, inclusive, of the Bill provide for the extension of the duties and codes which currently apply to broadcast and video-on-demand content to all public service content made available by RTÉ and TG4, such as podcasts and written material. As public service media providers established in law, RTÉ and TG4 have a particular duty to their audiences. This will bring all of RTÉ and TG4's public service content under the regulation of Coimisiún na Meán and enable audiences to make complaints to Coimisiún na Meán regarding such content.

Sections 4, 5 and 54 of the Bill provide for the new framework to support public service content. Section 4 provides for a definition of "public service content" as any audiovisual or sound programme, anything published in a press publication and types of online content which inform, educate or entertain and which relates to an exhaustive list of categories of interest to Irish audiences. A key principle of public service content is that it can only be made available by public service content providers, as defined in section 3 of the Bill. Public service content providers may be either regulated entities, such as a broadcaster regulated by Coimisiún na Meán, or an entity subject to a recognised self-regulatory regime, such as a newspaper regulated by the Press Council. This is intended to ensure any funded content is subject to regulation, with a clear avenue for the public to make complaints. Section 4 also provides for a definition of "under-served audience", which refers to audiences who may be under-served by virtue of a particular characteristic such as age, disability or geography.

Section 54 provides for the three main elements of the new framework. First, Coimisiún na Meán will be required to carry out triennial reviews of public service content provision to assess gaps in such provision in the Irish and English languages and to recommend measures to address these gaps. The reviews must have particular regard to the needs of the under-served audiences. The first of these will be submitted to the Minister by 30 June 2027 and cover the period 2028 to 2030. Second, the broadcasting fund will be converted into a fund known as ciste na meán, which will continue to be funded annually by 7% of net TV licence fee receipts and an Exchequer allocation. Third, out of the resources paid into ciste na meán, Coimisiún na Meán will prepare and operate public service content funding schemes to support the production of new public service content, measures to develop the capacity of public service content providers and measures to support the archiving of public service content. Over time it is expected that existing media funding schemes, such as the Sound and Vision scheme and the courts and local democracy reporting schemes, will be converted to schemes made under the Act.

Under existing legislation, RTÉ is required to provide an inflation-adjusted fixed amount of funding for independent programming. In line with the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission, sections 45 and 46 of the Bill will require RTÉ to allocate a minimum of 25% of its public funding to commission audiovisual and audio programming from the independent production sector. The 25% target will no longer be confined to broadcast material but will also cover podcasts and audiovisual programming to be made available via on-demand players.

In terms of regulatory powers, Coimisiún na Meán already has extensive powers to require information from a provider following the opening of a formal investigation. Outside investigations and as part of its supervisory function, it also has the power to require, by notice in writing, a regulated provider to provide it with information relating to compliance with an online safety code. Sections 20 and 60 of the Bill will extend this information-gathering power to require regulated entities to provide information relating to compliance with other elements of the online safety framework and with media service codes and rules. As a Government, we are committed to ensuring Coimisiún na Meán has all appropriate powers to carry out its functions in relation to online safety.

The Broadcasting Act 2009 currently provides Coimisiún na Meán with the authority to impose a levy on audiovisual broadcasters, such as RTÉ or VMTV, and video-on-demand providers, such as Netflix or the RTÉ Player. The proceeds of what is often called the Netflix levy may be used by Coimisiún na Meán or Fís Éireann to fund new audiovisual programming. The Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, has set out his view that it is appropriate any charge which may increase the prices Irish consumers pay should be subject to democratic oversight. For that reason, section 56 of the Bill provides that a levy may only be imposed by Coimisiún na Meán pursuant to a ministerial direction. The Minister has been very clear he does not intend to give such direction at this time. To ensure this position can be considered in light of up-to-date information and analysis, section 58 of the Bill provides for the ex-ante and ex-post assessments of the impact of a levy to be undertaken by Coimisiún na Meán every three years. The first report will be due three years after the commencement of the relevant section, or earlier if directed by the Minister.

I am conscious the past three weeks have felt like Groundhog Day, which is a phrase used by both the Minister and the Tánaiste. In all of this, we must not lose sight of the essential role RTÉ and TG4 as public service media providers play in the social, cultural and democratic life of this country. They provide programming that informs, educates and entertains and ensure the public can have, and knows it can have, trustworthy and reliable information. However, to be truly effective our public service media providers must be trusted. To be trusted they must be open and transparent and demonstrate the very highest standards in corporate governance. This must be underpinned by robust legislation and that is why this Bill aims to fundamentally reform the governance and regulation of RTÉ and TG4. I look forward to working with all Members of the House as we progress this Bill.

Deputy Joanna Byrne

I thank the Minister of State for being with us and for her presentation. I welcome the progression of the Bill, though many of the items in it could and should have been implemented a long time ago, had Government not voted down many of the same proposals when they were made by Sinn Féin. This includes bringing RTÉ under the aegis of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Sinn Féin also proposed a significant number of amendments through the media committee, many of which were passed and are included in this Bill. We accept that on balance this is a positive Bill that makes long-overdue changes we have been advocating for years. Many of the items in this were necessitated by the multiple scandals in RTÉ and long-term mismanagement of public funding.

After last week's media committee performance and revelations from RTÉ I especially welcome the Bill will assign the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ. The top ten earners' list we were presented with for the last eight years is wrong and 13 people at RTÉ are earning more than the €250,000 salary cap when entitlements such as pension contributions and allowances are taken into account. There is nothing like an RTÉ scandal to keep the focus off the Government's mismanagement of this State - Lord knows we have had enough of them by now - but I look forward to reading the Comptroller and Auditor General's report into RTÉ's accounts now he will finally have the power.

It is important to note the committee report on this Bill made 85 recommendations, thereby highlighting the Government's laissez-faire attitude to bringing forward such important legislation.

There are recommendations in the Bill that were previously included in the Future of Media Commission that have still not been progressed. The Government has dragged its feet in this regard, and by the look of this, it will continue to drag its feet as the Minister has refused to follow the recommendation to set targeted timelines for its implementation.

Of the 85 recommendations carefully considered and agreed by members of both the Opposition and the Government at committee, the Minister says that 68 can be or already have been implemented. He says there are seven more that are appropriate to legislation that has horizontal effect across many sectors, such as employment, tax, social insurance and copyright law, which I completely understand. In that regard, he says he has brought the recommendations relating to copyright legislation and policy to the attention of the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, who I hope has a plan of action for them. We do not want these recommendations to fall between two stools or to be sent back and forwards. It is something that I and, I am sure, many other members of the media committee will be watching closely because there was genuine intent and diligence offered in the drafting of these recommendations across the board.

I take particular issue with the Minister for choosing not to action recommendation 13, which seeks to end geoblocking on the island of Ireland. We in Sinn Féin have long called on the Irish Government to end the geoblocking of RTÉ content from its viewers in the North. The Minister's conscious decision not to accept this recommendation goes to the heart of the southern establishment’s disregard for and perception of Irish citizens in the North. As Ireland came to a standstill to cheer on the boys in green only weeks ago, it was wrong that so many people in the North were unable to watch our national football team play their World Cup qualifier free-to-air on RTÉ because it is geoblocked. This was Ireland's biggest international soccer match in decades. It is equally unfair to block them from watching Irish athletes in the North competing for team Ireland in the Olympics, or Armagh potentially winning an all-Ireland final.

The committee agreed the cross-party recommendation to recognise all users in the North of Ireland as underserved audiences, and endorsed the incorporation of provisions. It cannot be understated that colleagues from across the Government and the Opposition have come together to recognise that the geoblocking of audiences, exclusion from competitions and erasure from maps of the Six Counties by RTÉ need to be addressed. This recommendation to end geoblocking demonstrates a unity of purpose among TDs and Senators to ensure that national broadcasters serve the whole of our nation. The Irish Government has the ability and responsibility to address this issue, and it should be engaging further with the British Government, regulators, broadcasters and Internet service providers. Refusing to accept and implement this recommendation is a true reflection of intent when it comes to this Government's consideration of our fellow countrymen and women up North.

I would encourage the Minister, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, to heed the call by his Government colleagues to implement the Sinn Féin proposal to end geoblocking and include audiences across the island. If he does not, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh and I will pursue our Broadcasting (All-Ireland Service) (Amendment) Bill 2025 to ensure equal access to service across the whole island of Ireland. We have already introduced that Bill. If passed, this Bill would place an onus on national broadcasters to make every reasonable effort to end this exclusion. It would also require Coimisiún na Meán and the Minister for communications to identify and work to overcome licensing barriers to all-Ireland service in broadcast media.

This is not just an issue of concern for this House, but also an issue of concern for Stormont. The economy Minister, Dr. Caoimhe Archibald, confirmed in recent days that she has engaged with both the Irish and British Governments to help to bring an end to the unacceptable practice of geoblocking. This issue is not going away. When I presented the committee's report to the House this day last week, the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, was not present then either. I raised this concern in my opening speech with the Minister of State, Deputy Frankie Feighan. I also raised it in my closing speech because it was not referenced in Deputy Feighan's response. Again, today, despite that, there is no mention of it in today's presentation. That is deeply disappointing.

I also take issue with the Minister choosing not to progress recommendation 3, where the committee recommends that the Bill include a specific timeframe of dates for the commencement of its provisions. That the response of ministerial discretion will be retained in commencing the Bill does not inspire confidence that this will be enacted. All we want is a timeframe for things to happen. Waiting for the Minister to hit the right frame of mind or mood is not an adequate, effective or transparent method of governance. It is par for the course for this Government, but it is not good governance.

Anyone who knows me knows that I want to work in collaboration with people around me for the greater good, and that has been the case since I first went onto Louth County Council in 2016 and right up to this very day. The work done in the pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill at the committee was a fine example of people with quite different mindsets working in collaboration with each other and agreeing a common way forward. That should not be forgotten, and it should not be pushed aside at a whim. It is the Minister's choice, of course, but he needs to make that a considered choice. While I recognise and welcome the many positives in the Bill, I urge the Minister to reflect on the positives that he has omitted from inclusion in the Bill, positives that would not only have strengthened the Bill, but unified the House in its drafting, consideration and implementation for the good of all of our people, North and South.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

It is a pity the Minister is not present to hear this, although that is not a slight on the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth. We have had this engagement with the Minister, so he sometimes gets what I am talking about because I have had it out with him over a number of years, in particular over geoblocking. That is something that has not gone away and will not go away unless it is addressed. It needs to be addressed in legislative format at this stage because every other attempt by us to address it has been ignored. We had the ability to do this. We put forward the Broadcasting (All-Ireland Service) (Amendment) Bill last year, which was aimed at addressing it. The committee, in its pre-legislative scrutiny, looked at the challenges. The challenges are there, but they are not ones that cannot be overcome. There are simple solutions, and a simple approach is possible with the national broadcasters. The national authority of a Minister can overcome it, but if that is not the case, then we will have to ensure that our legislation comes in. That is where we are at currently.

Recommendation 13 from the scrutiny came on the back of a discussion that we had about programmes like “Bluey”, “Dora the Explorer” and so on. These are programmes that kids enjoy in this jurisdiction, perhaps during the summer months in Donegal. When they return home, they have no access to the RTÉ Player and these programmes that they have grown to love, and the characters who are speaking as Gaeilge to them. Those are not the only issues. We have already mentioned Olympic coverage, all-Ireland finals and other issues.

There is a need for us to approach broadcasting on this island as an island. We need a single approach to these issues to ensure we have commonality, that we address the issues in advance of a united Ireland and that we create an all-Ireland market for broadcasting rights. They can all be tied in together. When RTÉ or TG4 are making approaches to other broadcasters or making agreements, they can do so on the understanding that any agreement they get will allow broadcasts across the island. That goes for the Olympics and the all-Ireland finals, and there should be no differentiation of the different parts of this island. I am disappointed that the Minister has not addressed this. Hopefully, during Committee Stage of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill, he will do so, and we can have an amendment to address this issue.

The other issue is one where I welcome the approach that, at long last, a Minister has taken. It is an issue that has come up over quite a number of years, and the Minister of State mentioned Groundhog Day. It is the fact that the Comptroller and Auditor General did not have the powers to investigate or have oversight of the RTÉ accounts. The decision to address this is to be welcomed. It is a pity that, a year ago to this day, the Minister of State's party and the Government voted down a Bill that I had in the House which did exactly that. It was a very simple Bill. It was not party-political, as we can see from the fact that it is being brought in under this Bill. However, it is a year on, and by the time this is enacted, it will be longer than that.

Hopefully, this will address some of the scandals and the waste of money. This is public money, at the end of the day, that RTÉ has overseen in the past and right up to recent days. One of the examples I have seen lately is the amount of money being spent on consultants to distribute "The Late Late Toy Show" funds.

For God's sake, can someone not just sit down and work it out? Why is RTÉ paying consultants to distribute the charitable funds that are raised? The fact that consultants would even take the money to do that is an even bigger scandal, and it needs to be addressed. If RTÉ needs consultants to look over it, there are consultant firms out there that should be able to offer this as a service as part of a donation to the "The Late Late Toy Show" fund. That is a scandal in itself because, ultimately, it is money being taken out of the public purse or out of the fund itself.

We learned this week of the amount of money being spent on limousines and the likes. Hopefully that era is at an end and we are now seeing the end of the wasting of money that was happening, week in and week out, in RTÉ over the years, where some people thought they could spend public funds willy-nilly. We need a proper public service. That has to be paid for, and I have absolutely no problem with that. We need to ensure that workers are protected and paid correctly, that performers are paid properly, that their performances, writings and so on are properly protected under copyright. The era of bogus self-employment is well and truly at an end. There must be strict adherence to the Karshan decision which ensures that bogus self-employment will not happen again. In an era when RTÉ is moving towards a lot more outsourcing, there is a danger that this could lead to bogus self-employment such that people would be employees but would be told that they are not.

Another issue I want to raise is the recommendations the committee made in relation to the Irish language. The committee sought to ensure that TG4 will have independent editorial control over its news service.

Tá an fhadhb seo leanúnach agus tá sé ardaithe ag TG4, na coistí istigh anseo, agamsa leis an Aire don Ghaeltacht agus le Aire na meán thar na blianta agus fós nílimid tar éis déileáil leis an gceist. Níl an Bhille seo tar éis déileáil leis. Bheadh sé i bhfad Éireann níos éasca dá mbeadh sé seo déanta gan é a bheith sa reachtaíocht ach níl sé sin ag tarlúint. Sin an fáth go mba chóir go mbeadh an tAire ag teacht chugainn ag déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil an neamhspleáchas seo ag TG4 maidir leis an nuacht agus gur féidir leis a thaispeáint gur seirbhís nuachta ann féin é, seachas a bheith ceangailte le RTÉ mar atá sé faoi láthair. Tá costas i gceist leis sin agus bheadh air caint le Coimisiún na Meán chun déanamh cinnte de gur féidir leis íocadh as seo. Níl sé sin ag tarlúint faoi láthair.

Recommendation No. 17 from the pre-legislative scrutiny process relates to the establishment, by means of the Bill, of a national Irish-language youth radio service. Tá sé seo mar cheist le tamall fada de bhlianta. Bíonn taispeántas nó scéim phíolótach ann nach mór gach bliain i gcomhar le Raidió Rí-Rá - tá stáisiúin eile ann, ní gá go roghnófar an ceann sin – a léiríonn go bhfuil spéis ag daoine óga éisteacht leis an raidió agus le cláracha raidió dírithe orthu féin seachas ar lucht na Gaeltachta amháin. Tá Raidió na Gaeltachta tar éis sár-obair a dhéanamh thar na blianta ó bunaíodh é. Caithfimid déanamh cinnte de go leanann an cur chuige atá aige agus an ceangal atá aige leis an bpobal ar aghaidh. Tá a lán daoine óga nach mbíonn ag éisteacht le gnáth-stáisiúin raidió, bíonn siad ag éisteacht le cláracha ar leith atá dírithe orthu. Sa chás sin, tá sé léirithe gur gá dúinn féachaint ar an gcineál sin stáisiún a bhunú. Níl a fhios agam an gá go mbeadh sé i reachtaíocht go bhfuil sé seo le bunú ach is gá go mbeimid, na polaiteoirí, ag tacú go hiomlán leis agus ag impí ar Choimisiún na Meán agus ar an Aire déanamh cinnte de go dtarlaíonn Raidió Rí-Rá amach anseo.

Recommendation No. 51 proposes that funding for TG4 be increased and that Coimisiún na Meán and the Government take account of the vital role of the media in intergenerational language transmission for our national and minoritised language when making decisions on funding. Cé go bhfuil ardú tar éis teacht thar na blianta ar an maoiniú do TG4, tá i bhfad Éireann níos mó ag teastáil. Is léiriú é nuair a fheicimid ar Société Radio-Canada, SRC, nó ar stáisiúin teilifíse i dTír na mBascach go bhfuil gá déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil an t-airgead ann le gur féidir le TG4 bheith san iomaíocht ag an leibhéal ceart agus na cláracha is fearr a chur amach má táimid ag iarraidh níos mó daoine a mhealladh chuig an teanga agus chun líofacht sa teanga a fhorbairt. Cuideoidh sé chomh maith leis an gceangal idir an dúshlán atá ag an Stát tar éis glacadh air féin go mbeidh 20% dóibh siúd atá earcaithe sa Státseirbhís líofa sa Ghaeilge ag leibhéal B2. Chun go dtarlóidh sé sin, caithfidh daoine óga nó iad siúd atá ag foghlaim na Gaeilge í a chloisteáil i bhfad níos minice ná mar atá siad faoi láthair.

Thacaigh mé agus tacaím go fóill leis an gcinneadh a ghlacadh maidir le fógraíocht agus mar sin. Feicimid agus cloisimid fógraí trí Ghaeilge anois níos mó ná mar a chualamar riamh roimhe seo. Is léiriú é sin go bhfuil tionchar aige nuair a dhéantar craoltóireacht ar an nGaeilge - cloiseann agus feiceann daoine í. Má chuirimid airgead i dtreo TG4, beidh toradh air. Feicimid an dea-thoradh atá ar TG4 leis na duaiseanna atá bainte amach aige go hidirnáisiúnta mar gheall ar na cláracha ar thacaigh sé leo agus na cláracha spóirt atá aige. Ní hamháin go gcuireann sé an Ghaeilge chun cinn, ach tá sé ag cur spórt nach raibh ar fáil roimhe seo ar RTÉ ar fáil. Is féidir linn tacú leis an dá rud ag an am céanna má dhéanfaimid cinnte de go bhfuil breis airgid aige ionas gur féidir leis an t-airgead sin a chaitheamh ar an earnáil seo. Is earnáil í a bhfuil airgead de dhíth uirthi, go háirithe nuair nach bhfuil an tAire sásta díriú isteach ar an treoir a thabhairt “content levy” a chur chun cinn. Bheadh airgead breise ar fáil don earnáil ina iomlán dá mbeadh sé sin déanta.

Bhí cúpla moladh eile. Ar mhaithe leis an Aire, breathnóimid orthu arís agus déanfaimid iad a chur chun cinn nuair a shroichfimid Céim an Choiste chun féachaint an mbeidh athrú poirt ag an Aire amach anseo maidir leis an líofacht atá acu siúd atá ar bhord RTÉ ó thaobh an Ghaeilge de. Bhíomar sa choiste ag iarraidh go mbeadh níos mó fócas ag na craoltóirí náisiúnta ar na pleananna agus a leithéid timpeall na tíre. Nílim ag cur i gcoinne an Bhille seo; is Bille maith é. Is féidir linn tacú leis ach caithfimid déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil athruithe ag teacht chun cinn ar Chéim an Choiste le cinntiú fad is atáimid ag gabháil don chraoltóireacht go bhfuilimid cinnte gurb é an Bhille is fearr gur féidir linn a chruthú agus go mbeidh sé sin rite ag an Dáil amach anseo.

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue

I welcome the Minister of State and am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important Second Stage debate on the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2026. This is significant and necessary legislation that seeks to modernise Ireland’s broadcasting and public service media framework for a digital age that has changed fundamentally since the Broadcasting Act 2009 was first enacted. This Bill has long been in the making. It puts into effect many of the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission and of the independent review of the governance and culture of RTÉ. It also complements the Media Regulation Bill that was debated recently in this House by implementing the remaining pieces of the European Media Freedom Act. The Bill is important because it brings together lots of different pieces of work that have been ongoing for a number of years.

We can all agree that the media landscape today is unrecognisable from what it was even 15 years ago. Public discourse increasingly happens online. Audiences consume content not only through traditional television and radio, but through streaming platforms, social media, podcasts, digital publications, and on-demand services. Alongside these changes, public trust in institutions, including media institutions, has been challenged. In that context, the place of public service media in our society can be fragile but that makes it all the more vital.

We in the Labour Party believe that an effective public service media is a central pillar of our democracy. Amid a fracturing media and information environment, we need to support our public service broadcasters all the more. However, public service media bodies rely on public trust and accountability. In recent years, we have seen worrying signs of that trust beginning to fray.

Against that backdrop, this Bill represents an attempt to address three core issues. First, it strengthens governance and accountability at RTÉ and TG4. Second, it broadens and modernises the definition of public service media to include a framework for public service content. Third, it seeks to protect editorial independence and democratic discourse in accordance with emerging European standards. These are worthy objectives, and many aspects of the Bill deserve support across this House.

One of the strongest features of this legislation is its recognition that public service broadcasting must evolve into public service media. For too long, legislation focused narrowly on traditional broadcasting while public debate and cultural engagement migrated online. This Bill acknowledges that public service content now exists not only on television and radio but also through digital publications and platform-based services like podcasts. That is an important shift. The Bill recognises that Irish public service content should reflect the full diversity of life in this country, including our culture, language, history, sport, the arts, environment, science, education and communities at home and abroad. Importantly, it also introduces the concept of underserved audiences. That matters greatly. There are many communities in Ireland that do not see themselves adequately represented in media output, whether this is due to disability, geography, language, socio-economic background, ethnicity or other factors. Public service media cannot simply serve the majority. It must serve the public in all its diversity. In that regard, the Government is right to place inclusion and accessibility at the centre of broadcasting policy via the Bill.

I also welcome the stronger recognition of the Irish language and Gaeltacht communities that is contained in the legislation. The provisions relating to TG4 are particularly important. Requiring stronger Irish-language competency among board and audience council members reflects the unique cultural role TG4 plays in Irish society. TG4 was proudly launched by former Labour Party Minister for the arts and former President Michael D. Higgins. The latter played a fundamental role in the establishment of the station. It was originally launched in 1996 as Teilifís na Gaeilge, which is what I knew it as, so I am showing my age. TG4 has consistently delivered innovation and cultural value beyond its size and budget, and this legislation rightly recognises that.

Another welcome aspect of the Bill is the strengthening of transparency and governance standards. In recent years, including just last week, we have seen serious controversies surrounding governance and financial oversight within RTÉ. Public confidence has been badly damaged and eroded. Regardless of political perspective, I believe that everyone in this House accepts that reform has become unavoidable and is absolutely necessary. This Bill responds to that reality by strengthening board responsibilities, clarifying the role of directors general, increasing transparency around remuneration and allowing greater scrutiny. It puts into effect the recommendation of the independent review that the Comptroller and Auditor General be appointed as auditor of the station. These are reasonable and sensible reforms.

Publicly funded media organisations must be accountable for the use of public money. I do not think that is controversial. However, what is not in this Bill is a fix to the fundamental problem that faces public service media in this country, namely that of funding. In 2023, RTÉ received some funding certainty via Government funds, but it becomes more clear year by year and month by month that in the long term a reformed funding model will have to be introduced. We need to begin to have the serious conversations about a sustainable funding settlement for RTÉ and TG4. Those conversations must not only recognise how vital good public service broadcasting is to our democracy and society; they must also take cognisance of the responsibility to ensure public finances are used responsibly and ensure that consumers' interests are taken into account.

It is disappointing to see that the Bill puts the stamp on the Minister’s move to stall a levy on streaming services. A European works levy will now require ministerial sign-off. In reality, this will mean less investment in Irish content, fewer opportunities for creators and continued advantage for global streaming giants. The Labour Party supports a content levy that would contain proper safeguards to protect consumers. We do not need to have a binary approach here. It is perfectly possible to invest in Irish creativity, support public service broadcasting, hold major streaming platforms to account and ensure that consumers rights are protected. This is becoming the norm across Europe, yet Ireland continues to lag behind. We have been blessed with success in our TV and film industries in recent years, which is a testament to good policymaking but we cannot afford to be complacent.

Today may not be the time to have a fulsome debate on the issue, but I would like to raise another aspect of the existing financial settlement for public service broadcasting. Under section 145(12) of the Broadcasting Act 2009, the Department of Social Protection pays a lump sum annually to the Department of communications in respect of free TV licences issued under the household benefits package. The amount that is paid over is fixed following consultation between the two Departments and the Department of public expenditure. In principle, providing free television licences to pensioners and older citizens is entirely right and proper. It is an important social support, particularly for people who are living alone or on fixed incomes. We need to be honest about how this arrangement has operated in practice, however. During the years of the financial crash, reducing the transfer became an easy Exchequer saving. Pensioners still received the benefit but the amount transferred did not necessarily reflect the cost of the licences issued. The consequence was that the shortfall was effectively absorbed by RTÉ, TG4, and, ultimately, the wider public service broadcasting sector. In other words, part of a social protection measure was effectively funded out of money intended for public service media and independent production.

As licence fee evasion increases and as Ireland’s population ages, there is a risk that this funding gap will become more significant. That raises important questions that deserve scrutiny during the passage of this Bill. What exact amount is currently transferred annually by the Department of Social Protection? Does that amount fully reflect the value of all free licences issued? Do public service broadcasters effectively subsidise what is ultimately a social welfare support? I would respectfully argue that they should not. There is no reason why free television licences for pensioners should be paid for out of funding intended to sustain journalism, cultural programming, Irish-language broadcasting, children’s content, regional reporting and independent production. If the State wishes to provide a universal social benefit, and I believe it should, then the State should fund that benefit transparently and in full. That conversation is central to the future sustainability of public service media. We cannot continually demand more from broadcasters while simultaneously allowing core funding streams to be eroded.

Equally important is the Bill’s emphasis on editorial independence. In a time when media systems across Europe face pressures from political polarisation, disinformation, commercial concentration and foreign influence, protections for editorial independence are essential. The Bill explicitly requires boards to safeguard the independence of corporations from political, governmental, economic or private interests. That principle deserves strong support. Public service media must never become the voice of government, nor should it become captive to commercial interests or ideological pressure.

Its role is to inform, educate, scrutinise power and reflect society fairly and independently.

I also welcome the implementation of aspects of the European Media Freedom Act. Ireland does not operate in isolation. Our media environment is increasingly European and global. Aligning our framework with European democratic standards is both practical and desirable. While I support the broad direction of this Bill, however, it is also important that we scrutinise it carefully and acknowledge legitimate concerns. No legislation is beyond criticism. One concern relates to the expanded regulatory powers being granted to Coimisiún na Meán. The latter will gain significant authority to demand information, oversee compliance and regulate digital public service content. While accountability is necessary, there is always a balance to be struck between oversight and overreach. We must ensure that regulatory powers are exercised proportionately, transparently and with proper safeguards relating to freedom of expression and journalistic independence in place.

There is also a question of bureaucracy. The Bill creates additional committees, review structures, reporting requirements, audience councils, disclosure systems and compliance obligations. Some of these measures are justified, but we should ask honestly whether the cumulative effect could become overly administrative and resource heavy, particularly for organisations already under financial pressure. Public service media organisations should spend their time creating quality journalism and programming, not becoming consumed by governance paperwork and compliance exercises. The balance in that regard is important.

There is also the issue of cost. This legislation expands functions, reporting obligations, oversight systems and regulatory activity. We must question whether adequate and sustainable funding will accompany these expectations. We cannot continually demand more from public service media while failing to provide long-term financial certainty. If we value independent journalism, Irish-language content, regional reporting, investigative reporting, children’s programming, arts programming and accessible public service content, we must be willing to invest properly in them.

Another area deserving careful examination is the definition of “under-served audiences”. The intention behind this provision is positive and commendable. However, there is a legitimate debate about how such categories will be interpreted and applied in practice. The public will rightly expect that editorial decisions remain grounded in journalistic judgment and public value rather than quota systems or political fashions. Representation matters, but editorial independence must remain paramount. Likewise, while audience councils could provide valuable public engagement, we should ensure that they enhance accountability without creating pressure groups that interfere improperly in editorial decisions.

There is also a broader philosophical debate that this Bill touches upon, namely that relating to the role of public service media in the modern era. Some argue that in an age of endless online content, publicly funded broadcasters are less necessary than before. I disagree. In fact, at a time of misinformation, algorithm-driven outrage, declining local journalism and growing distrust, the role of trusted public service media is arguably more important than ever. The answer to this is reform, accountability, transparency and renewal. This Bill attempts to provide that renewal. It is not perfect. It may require amendment and close scrutiny on Committee Stage. There are definitions that may need tightening, safeguards that may need strengthening and administrative burdens that may need reducing, but the central ambition of the Bill is correct. It recognises that democracy requires strong, independent and accountable public service media. It also recognises that Irish culture and identity deserve support in a crowded global media environment. It recognises citizens deserve transparency from publicly funded institutions, and it recognises that regulation must evolve alongside technology and changing patterns of media consumption.

As legislators, our task is not merely to criticise institutions when they fail; it is also to reform them responsibly. This Bill gives us an opportunity to do that. Therefore, while I believe careful scrutiny will be necessary, we in the Labour Party support the advancement of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2026 and look forward to engaging constructively on its provisions as it proceeds through the Oireachtas.

Deputy Barry Ward

I will start by saying something relatively controversial. I do not think RTÉ does a bad job; I think it does quite a good job. As a public service broadcaster, the difficulty it faces is that it is so often compared with international counterparts like the BBC, which is not perfect and which receives funding vastly beyond what RTÉ could ever expect to get in a small jurisdiction like ours. On the whole, I think it does a good job.

RTÉ does a good job in the public service broadcasting space. I agree with Deputy O'Donoghue regarding how public service broadcasting should never be the voice of the Government. I do not think it is. It is more critical of the Government than perhaps the Government would be happy with, but it should not be the voice of any particular sector. I would like to see much more reporting and less commentary in the context of public service broadcasting. Too often, opinions are reported and colour what is broadcast. RTÉ does a good job in providing good news and current affairs coverage and a good overall spread of the broadcast content.

That said, I welcome this important Bill which amends the Broadcasting Act and implements many of the new EU media rules under the European Media Freedom Act. While it is important to recognise the elements of the independent review of the governance and culture of RTÉ and the Report of the Future of Media Commission published in 2022, it is also important that this legislation has been brought forward. I acknowledge Shona Donnelly, who is in the Public Gallery and who is interning with me at present. She has done a lot of work analysing what this Bill does and where it succeeds.

The change in governance is one of the most important things proposed. In light of what happened recently in RTÉ, we have, to an extent, got carried away with examining individual pay rather than looking at the governance issues. I specifically welcome the provisions in this Bill that will change the governance of RTÉ, public service broadcasting and the safeguards for editorial independence, which will come through the official governing body. Describing the director general as the editor-in-chief and ensuring that his or her term of office shall only last five to seven years are good things. In that context, maybe we need to separate RTÉ out as being different from other media organisations because it is in receipt of so much public funding.

I also recognise the changes in transparency in respect of the commissioners within Coimisiún na Meán and the fact that RTÉ's accounts will be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The difficulty with RTÉ has been less about the manner in which money has been spent - and the criticism in that regard is valid - but, rather, the changes in the appearance that perhaps what has been said cannot be relied upon. That is a problem from the point of view of public confidence. Transparency is a hugely important part of that public confidence in public broadcasting and public service media. The notion, for example, that the director general would be available to give evidence before committees is hugely important. There should not be any resistance to that; they should be available to answer questions when called upon to do so. Reviews every three years and annual reviews of the organisation's funding and performance are also important to inform and reinstate that performance. Obviously, this goes hand in hand with the disclosure of employee pay. As I said, this is less about individuals and more about the organisation.

One thing that is very welcome is the scope for greater focus on the Irish language. One of the things we have seen emerging in recent years, not in the context of this legislation but with regard to the Official Languages Act, is advertising and the fact State agencies have to spend 20% of their advertising on fógraíocht trí mheán na Gaeilge. That is extremely important. Whether we realise it or not, we do notice it. We now have a situation where, if you are listening to or watching media, you will see advertising completely through Irish. That is something we did not really see before. You might have previously seen an advert that is targeted at the Irish-speaking community or that relates to an Irish-speaking product, but now it is wholesale.

Irrespective of what Government programme it is or what a particular Government agency is doing, we will now hear that advertising to the tune of at least 20% as Gaeilge. That is hugely important because it normalises the existence of Irish within the media generally but, obviously, within our public service media as well. The make-up of the audience councils is really important in terms of including at least ten Irish-speaking members and at least five with Gaeltacht experience. That is progress, and we should actually be moving to increasing that 20% because I think it makes a big difference as to what we hear in media. Here is where it also makes a difference: now there is a funding stream for those involved in Irish language media production. People, particularly cainteoirí dúchais - Irish speakers - who can do that advertising and companies that are capable of doing production through Irish now have a guaranteed stream that comes into them. That is really important because it funds those companies in the longer term. It makes their existence viable where perhaps previously it would not have been, notwithstanding the presence of TG4 and its predecessor, Teilifís na Gaeilge, and indeed Raidió na Gaeltachta, which does not have the same extent of advertising in real terms. It is something that I think is a burden on presenters on Raidió na Gaeltachta. If you are presenting on most mainstream media programmes, there is an ad break where you get to put yourself together for the next segment. If you are presenting a programme on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, you do not have that chance; it just goes from one segment into the next. The professionalism then is also worth noting. The point I make about the importance of driving Irish language material, in terms of the presence of ár dteanga dúchais, is really important, but the point about how it drives production and capacity within the Irish language production centre is also important.

That extends beyond the language to Irish producers in general. One of my real bugbears is the notion that you turn on RTÉ radio, RTÉ television or any Irish indigenous radio or television station and there is an ad being run on that station that is 100% exclusively produced for the English market - English accents, English parlance, English slang, English personalities, produced in London by people who have no concept of what the Irish market needs. When that ad is run on Irish media, it frustrates me because it is a signal that the company running the ad really sees us as being part of the English or British market. That is one thing, but worse than that, it means that the Irish voice-over artists based in Dublin, the people who do the copy, the people who put together the filming of these things in Dublin, and the jobs that are based here in Dublin providing media solutions for Irish companies, Irish people and Irish media consumers are being overlooked. If a big multinational - I will not name any companies but there are lots of them - makes its ad in London and then runs it in Irish media, it is saying not only that it thinks we are an extension of the British market but also that it does not care to give work to Irish media companies based here in Dublin and elsewhere around the country. That is a real shame, and there is an obvious responsibility on the company itself to indicate that it has enough respect to produce an ad that is dedicated to this jurisdiction. I also think there is a role for the media companies, the radio stations and the television stations to say to those companies that come to advertise with them that those ads are not made for this jurisdiction. I have raised this with media companies, and the response is understandably that they do not turn away business. The payment for those ads funds the activities of that radio station or television station. I get that. However, I do not get the sense that, at any point when an ad comes in, there is somebody in RTÉ or, indeed, any other media outlet in the country who says they think the advertiser should amend or change that ad or remake it in Ireland using Irish staff, Irish teams and Irish companies because it will land better with the people here. The problem for us is that because we also consume so much international media, particularly British media, we sometimes do not notice. If you are watching British television and then you switch to an Irish channel, you might not notice that the ad is exactly the same as the one you saw on the British channel.

I just think there is a real shame within the media landscape that we cannot strike out better for Irish media companies to ensure that the content we see, hear and have to listen to is indigenous content generated here for us, by us. I do not mean that to sound in any way isolationist because the reality is that we live in a global environment, and I do not have a problem with that. However, I do have a problem with the notion that we are an extension of another media market. I think there is something being missed by media outlets here but also by the companies that are advertising, and I do not know if they are even aware of how much it can sometimes turn off an Irish consumer that the product being advertised is actually being geared towards and aimed at a different type of consumer entirely. I do not know to what extent that can be addressed within this legislation, but in the same way that the Official Languages Act prescribed the 20% allocation for fógraíocht trí Ghaeilge, is there room, perhaps, for a portion or a requirement for a portion of advertising on any station to be made, for example, in this jurisdiction? That may interfere with competition rules within the European Union, but maybe if we just said that it had to be done within the European Union, that would specifically relate to the other major English language jurisdiction in this part of the world.

I started by saying that I thought RTÉ did a good job. I stand by that. I think that our news can sometimes be a small bit parochial, and I want to give a shout-out to a programme that I think is genuinely excellent. Unfortunately, it occupies only a 20-minute slot on a Sunday morning on RTÉ Radio One, and it is "World Report". "World Report" is a programme that goes around the world and uses reporters on the ground in places we do not hear very much from very often and it gives them an opportunity to set out a story that is happening in Kenya, India or Bolivia or somewhere like that that does not make the mainstream news - and, by the way, that includes print media. Particularly in an English language jurisdiction, where there is so much international media coming into our country through English, it is sometimes very difficult for consumers here to hear through that noise and see things that do not make their way into the headlines in our newspapers or notifications on our various media apps or whatever we look at online. Algorithms can sometimes kill your ability to see beyond what a particular platform thinks you should be reading. "World Report" cuts through that, and I really do not know why we could not do a "World Report" every day. On RTÉ Radio, before "Morning Ireland" starts at 7 a.m., for example, there is room there even to do one or two stories. It is an excellent programme because it also lifts us out of the parochial nature that is sometimes associated with news in this jurisdiction. I would love to see that happening.

This Bill, which is concerned primarily with governance and transparency, is good legislation and I welcome it, but there is so much more we can do in terms of improving our national media landscape to ensure that it serves the people in this country but also serves them with a diet of information and media material that they will not get outside this country. Let us do better for them in that regard.

Deputy Sinéad Gibney

I just have a few short points to make, so I will not use my full time, just for the benefit of other speakers. I thank the Minister of State for being here in the absence of the media Minister. I welcome the progress of this Bill and I look forward to getting stuck into it on Committee Stage at the media committee. We are at a crucial juncture as to where broadcasting is and where streaming is, all the disruption we have experienced as a society from the Internet, essentially, and the companies that dominate that world, what that has meant for revenues for traditional broadcasters, legacy media generally, and what it means now for how we govern that space. I recognise that this is on the back of not only the Future of Media Commission but also the more recent governance report. Of course, it is also on the back of the governance and financial scandal, if you like, recently experienced by RTÉ and by this disruption I refer to.

I welcome the move to bring RTÉ under the remit of the C and AG. I have been an Accounting Officer under the remit of the C and AG. It is a rigorous body that I believe will assist us in bringing to where it needs to be the transparency and oversight of RTÉ as our national and State broadcaster.

I want to pick up on a couple of other specifics within this. Screen Producers Ireland has been in touch about the 25% funding minimum. Essentially, one of the issues it raises is that, within the legislation, we do not yet see a commencement date for that minimum. We need to look at that. This is a pivotal and fundamental measure for the commercial sector, which carries that public service broadcasting mandate through the commissioning process, and it is crucial that the sector be provided with as much information as possible as far in advance as possible in order that it can do the appropriate planning that it needs to respond to the call for public service broadcasting from our national broadcaster. That is very important.

I want to touch on the Irish language scope of this, as many others have. I have talked a lot with Irish language media providers recently, primarily on the campaign trail in the Galway West by-election, and it was an eye-opener to understand how difficult it had been for producers and professionals working in that space who were looking at dual or two-tier pay systems, essentially, often for twice the work. There is a feeling in some areas that professionals are paid less and asked to do more to meet not only the public service obligations in the Irish language sector, but also the ambition we have as a State to foster and promote our indigenous language.

It is a shame that the Minister has chosen not to place the levy entirely under the remit of Coimisiún na Meán. This is exactly what I am saying about disruption. We are seeing a disproportionate amount of the cost of disruption borne by legacy media rather than by the streamers and new platforms. That is where it needs to go to. I get the concerns about passing the cost on to the consumer but we are an outlier now. In other European countries, the streaming levy is available to fund independent and creative sectors. They could product Irish media content. That is something I will be pushing hard on on Committee Stage. I have no doubt others in the Opposition will too.

Overall, I welcome the Bill and look forward to working on it further on Committee Stage.

Deputy Micheál Carrigy

This Bill is a media governance and transparency reform package for public service media, designed to restore trust in RTÉ, strengthen oversight, support independent production and ensure public money delivers value. It heightens accountability and governance by assigning the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ. Also contained in the Bill is an enhancement of the statutory framework from which Coimisiún na Meán assesses the performance and funding of RTÉ and TG4. It includes strengthened provisions relating to the duties, appointments and dismissal of the directors general of RTÉ and TG4 and provides for greater transparency in the anonymised reporting on remuneration of employees and contractors. It extends media service duties and codes to all non-broadcast content published by RTÉ and TG4 and strengthens the independence and authority of the audience councils. Given what we dealt with in the past week in the media committee, that is extremely important.

It is about strengthening transparency, accountability and governance while widening support for public service content across the media sector. It is about ensuring our public media provide accurate, factual news content on all platforms and provide high-quality media that is free and accessible to all of Ireland.

It is important to say that RTÉ provides a fantastic service. It provides trustworthy content and news, and that is something that is not provided across all platforms. We need to address that.

The Bill is about ensuring publicly funded organisations provide content related to the democratic, social and cultural needs of our society that is free at the point of consumption. It is about ensuring that people who receive taxpayers' money are accountable and adhere to good governance, and that public organisations are transparent in how they handle taxpayers' money. In the case of RTÉ, that is €725 million over three years, as well as the TV licence, which amounts to over €100 million, paid by people throughout the country.

We have seen scandals arise and it is important that the correct legislation and structures are in place to prevent their recurrence. The Bill will give greater accountability by strengthening the audit and governance rules surrounding the board and director general. RTÉ and TG4 will face strong reporting requirements, including anonymised pay reporting and annual reports on commissioning decisions and spending, heightening transparency and oversight.

The Bill goes even further than that. It outlines a new framework for RTÉ, TG4 and public service content in the wider media sector. There is also planned support for independent productions and provision for payment by RTÉ of at least 25% of its annual public funding into the RTÉ independent programmes account for the purpose of commissioning programmes from the independent sector.

The Minister has withheld a charging levy at this point but has not said it will not happen. We will wait and see. We want to see Netflix, etc., purchasing independent content in this country. If not, the Minister reserves the right to go to Coimisiún na Meán to impose a levy. Ultimately, we do not want a levy put on consumers; they are paying enough as it is.

Rules and standards currently applied to broadcast content will apply to podcasts and written content on both stations. There will also be a complaints pathway through Coimisiún na Meán. The Bill also clarifies the Netflix levy. That will only be introduced following a ministerial direction, with impact assessments required before and after implementation. That will happen unless the likes of Netflix purchase Irish content, keeping people in jobs in Ireland.

The Bill provides Coimisiún na Meán with additional information-gathering powers for supervising Ireland's online safety framework. Online safety is a serious topic and we need to do everything in our power to make the online world as safe and beneficial to users, particularly vulnerable users and our children, as possible. This Bill will ensure we achieve that goal.

The Bill has been brought before the Government. The Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport discussed it and made 85 recommendations. The Minister has replied and 65 recommendations can be and already have been addressed, including in existing legislation and by incorporation into this Bill.

The Bill accepted in principle recommendations, published by the Government, of the Future of Media Commission. The Government published the independent review of the governance and culture of RTÉ, prepared by an expert advisory committee. It has received lots of scrutiny, recommendations, attention and discussion. It is ready to be passed and to strengthen the transparency, accountability and governance of RTÉ, TG4 and public media organisations and platforms more generally.

Legislative measures supporting this Bill include the Media Regulation Bill 2026 and the European Media Freedom Act, which aims to strengthen the internal market for media services and protect media pluralism and independence throughout the EU.

In conclusion, this is about ensuring that our media are transparent and accountable and taxpayers receive high-quality journalism, Irish-made television and increased content through our native Irish language. I thank Members for their attention and commend the Bill to the House.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I am against the legislation and I am a little surprised others have not stated their opposition to it. I urge people to consider opposing it. There are some good aspirations and aspects to it, which I would support. I am for greater transparency when it comes to the governance of RTÉ. I am for better financial management of RTÉ and of money put into public service broadcasting generally. I am also for more transparency - that is relevant to why I am against this Bill - and proper management of public funds going into the audiovisual sector, including the money to public service broadcasting but also the lots of money given to the audiovisual sector where there is no transparency. Some of us - me in particular - have been urging the Government to look at it and to have transparency, accountability and proper financial management, yet the Government does not do it. I do not believe this Bill is actually about achieving the things it says it is going to achieve.

I think it is going to do the opposite of that. That is why I am going to be opposing it, despite the aspirations. Do not get me wrong, I am happy to have the Comptroller and Auditor General look at and audit of the accounts of RTÉ. That is fine; no problem. If the Bill was just about that, I would be in favour of it. What I am not in favour of is an obligation of a minimum of 25% of all the money that RTÉ is going to be given having to be outsourced to the private sector. It is a minimum, by the way. That is back-door privatisation. There is no transparency once we outsource to the independent sector. Therefore, we will not know what is done with that money. If we think about it, and my worst fears are being realised, the bad behaviour and obscene salaries of a small group of people at the top of RTÉ means that the ordinary workers in RTÉ, who are in no way responsible for that bad behaviour, and public service broadcasting itself are going to be the collateral damage. That is what is actually happening here. The net result will be that more money will go into areas in broadcasting and in the audiovisual sector where there will be no oversight whatsoever, namely, the independent sector. What oversight is there going to be of the independent sector? What oversight is there when the State outsources stuff?

Let me give the Minister of State one example that is, in my opinion, kind of relevant. I will just set it out. I screamed about it at the time but, as usual with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, I was just wasting my time. I refer to the sale of Ardmore Studios, which was the national film studios, back in 2018. The Government had a 32% stake in Ardmore Studios when it was sold to Olcott, a private consortium that also owned Troy Studios. If we remember, a lot of money for Troy Studios had come from Limerick County Council, I think. It was owned, if I remember correctly, although I stand to be corrected, by Michael Noonan's brother. It became Troy Studios and Olcott then bought Ardmore Studios, the 32% remaining stake. Ms Siún Ní Raghallaigh was the CEO. That name should ring a bell; she was in charge of RTÉ later. Olcott got hold of what had been the national film studios and the remaining 32% Government stake. It gave commitments at the time, and some of us expressed concern about this, that it was committed to the people who were employed there and so on. I raised this at the time with the Comptroller and Auditor General, by the way. I went in and met him. In 2021, Olcott, headed up by Siún Ní Raghallaigh and a guy called Joe Devine, sold Ardmore for €100 million to Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management, which were US-based consortiums. There still is not full clarity on how much the State actually got for the 32% because it was writing off debts and so on for Ardmore. A lot of money had gone into Ardmore through section 41 and so on. I think it was in the region of €6 million. The State got €6 million and three years later, the consortium sold it for €100 million.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is this all on the public record?

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Yes. That is something that was public and where we had some oversight of it. There was some accountability. It went to a private company and then ended up in the hands of vulture funds, and a huge fortune was made in the meantime. There was no transparency around any of that. We had no real control over it or no oversight. That is what is going to happen, in my opinion, slowly but surely to public service broadcasting. This is an example of the requirement to outsource to the independent sector.

Who is going to check what the salaries are for the producers in the independent sector? Who is going to ensure there is not bogus self-employment, something we know was an element of what was going on in RTÉ with the disgraceful treatment of workers in there? By and large, however, most people have proper jobs. They paid tax, had pensions and so on. Some people were treated very badly and there was some route to try to resolve that and reclassify people who had been bogusly self-employed. What is happening in the independent sector in terms of employment for workers? What is going to happen is that proper paid jobs for crew in RTÉ are going to be progressively replaced by people in the independent sector. My understanding from talking to people is that the producers, that is, the members of Screen Producers Ireland, SPI, are basically telling people that if they want to work on their productions, whether they are scripted or non-scripted - a lot of the new stuff is going to be in the non-scripted sector - but in either case, these individuals will be told they have to set themselves up as private companies. This is not PAYE employment, so they will not be paying PAYE tax anymore. If they were doing that job in RTÉ and if those productions were being made in-house in RTÉ, they would be paying tax and they would have some job security. Now, once it is in the independent sector and privately owned, who is going to make sure it is not bogus self-employment? From what I hear, it is rampant. Basically, people will not get to work in that sector unless they agree to set themselves up as a private company. Therefore, individuals, whether they are plasterers, riggers or whatever it might be, have to set themselves up as individual private companies, so they are not employees.

By the way, as well as getting money it seems from RTÉ, there is another source of money, which is interesting in and of itself. I think it is still going on, and maybe the Minister of State can clarify it. Certainly, a few years ago, about €400,000 or more was being paid by RTÉ to Screen Producers Ireland, which is the representative group of the private companies in the independent audiovisual sector, that is, the producer companies. Why is public money going to run a representative organisation of a series of private companies? I do not understand that. I do not think public money goes to IBEC, does it? I do not think so, unless I missed something. However, it is going to the screen producer equivalent of IBEC - I think that is been going on - which is very pleased about the commitment. I got its document. It is very pleased and very happy with the requirement in this legislation that 25% of all the money of RTÉ is going to go to it as well as the money it gets paid to run its organisation in a situation where nobody has a job in that sector and where workers are fighting to get proper employment because it is gig to gig. We have gone from people having jobs in RTÉ to this and just to reiterate, these are the workers who did not have obscene salaries whose jobs are being replaced. I am absolutely for capping the salaries of the top people in RTÉ; they were obscene. However, it is the jobs of the ordinary people - the crew, the camera operators and all these people - that are going to be replaced with people who will now work gig to gig. They will go from proper jobs into the gig economy. They will be totally vulnerable. Will they get on to the next gig? They not if they complain about the hours.

I mentioned a report to the Minister. Screen Guilds of Ireland did a survey, which it never published because the responses of the people who worked in the sector were so bad that it looked bad for the industry. It never published it because it was all about the long hours, poor pay, no career progression, how people were never listened to and how it was understaffed and under-resourced. It was absolutely damning, so it was never published. That was done a couple of years ago. Is this what is going to happen to people who are working in the independent sector where more money is going to go?

This is happening simultaneously when section 481, the film tax credit, which was previously for the scripted sector because it contributed to developing an industry and producing stuff in relation to Irish culture, is now going in the independent sector to stuff that does not necessarily do any of those things. I was reading an article a while ago about Gordon Ramsay's cooking show being produced in the independent sector.

What does Gordon Ramsay have to do with public service broadcasting? It is Gordon Ramsay or US quiz shows. Is that contributing to Irish culture? Are they going to benefit from tax breaks and money coming in that was supposed to go to public service broadcasting? Is that where this is going? It looks to me like the bits in RTÉ that were making money are being asset-stripped out and decent jobs for ordinary people are now going to be thrown into this private sector where there is no oversight.

An Ceann Comhairle

Sorry to interrupt but I think the Deputy needs to clarify that he is making his point by using an example rather than an insinuation against-----

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

No, I am asking questions about what I think may be happening.

An Ceann Comhairle

But that individual-----

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I am entitled to ask whatever questions I like.

An Ceann Comhairle

Yes, but the Deputy cannot bring somebody-----

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

What? Who did I mention?

An Ceann Comhairle

Mr. Ramsay.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I am simply making-----

An Ceann Comhairle

That is what I am asking the Deputy to clarify.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

A Gordon Ramsay cooking show was made a couple of years ago down in Wicklow. Did it benefit from public money? Will the independent sector benefit - because that was made by the independent sector - now that 25% of RTÉ money has to go to these people, the producers? An awful lot of the stuff that is made here is getting section 481 money or Screen Ireland money and now it is going to get RTÉ money. Screen Producers Ireland, which is the representative group of the independent sector, has for quite a number of years been getting hundreds of thousands of euro from RTÉ - private companies. This looks to me like the hollowing-out of public service broadcasting using the excuse of bad governance and bad behaviour by a small group of people at the top. I am against that. I am against throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I am against public service broadcasting, decent quality employment and training and indeed the wider public interest being thrown out because of the bad behaviour of a small group of people, which could have been dealt with by imposing a cap and everybody being placed on salary scales that are transparent. The salary scales and the pay, employment and training conditions of people in the private sector - that independent sector - will not be transparent. Who is going to be checking on them? It will not happen. All that money will just go out and we will have no control whatsoever. It is not benefiting the public, it is not generating public service broadcasting and it is not generating quality employment and training - very much the opposite - so I am very concerned. I believe hundreds of workers in RTÉ are balloting for industrial action because of their concerns about this. Where will the RTÉ orchestra going to live? I could say more.

Deputy Brian Stanley

There are some good parts in this Bill but I have some serious concerns as well. The decision in the 1990s to remove the power of the Comptroller and Auditor General and indeed direct accountability of RTÉ to the Committee of Public Accounts was a huge mistake by the Government at that time. During the four and a half years when I was Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, when we started looking at RTE, it got worse. What we met at the first couple of hearings was every attempt to not answer questions. I am trying to be charitable when I say that what was clear by the end of those hearings and that four and a half year period of the Dáil was that there was a cabal at the top of it that was run by the cabal for the cabal and anybody who agreed with it. That had to change. The Committee of Public Accounts produced over 20 recommendations. Central to them was something I proposed way back at the start. I was amazed to find that RTÉ was not accountable to the Comptroller and Auditor General or directly accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts. Indeed there was reluctance to come before the committee and we had to go to extreme lengths to actually drag the previous management of RTÉ in through the door initially, so I welcome that part of it. It is important that this second level of oversight is there and direct accountability to this House and the taxpayer in respect of public money. It is a key recommendation.

It is key for the Minister of State to make sure that the board is fully functioning and has its eyes on what is going on. It was clear that the connection between board and management was not great despite the fact that there were some good people on the board doing good work. It is the same with the audit committee. Appointments and decision-making are key. Pay for top earners is very important. All that was in the recommendations. I acknowledge that progress has been made on a lot of that. A lot has been done on presenters' pay but more has to be done. Regarding the issue of producers and presenters, if somebody is known as a presenter in the public mind and that is a huge part of his or her work then he or she should be counted as a presenter. The pay of at least the top 50 earners across the board in RTÉ should be published annually regardless of what their role is.

The issue of agents came up a lot. The one thing that came to light fairly quickly as the Committee of Public Accounts started a deep dive into it was the fact that one agent could get themselves into a position of being able to let the whole lot spin in the palm of their hand. That must never be allowed to happen again. The rules of engagement with agents need to be very clear. It was literally a game of bluff. If they were poker players, they would be very good at winning. To allow somebody to get that excessive control is wrong so there has to be transparency with regard to that, there need to be very clear rules of engagement and that requires continuous examination by the Minister of State and the Department to make sure that never happens again.

Transparency is obviously important in terms of accounts, renumeration and performance. I welcome the provision about the monitoring role of Coimisiún na Meán in the Bill. It involves assessing and appraising performance. Regarding spend on the overall media sector, including what is going to be independent sector, I am not going to argue against independent radio stations, etc., but that does need to be monitored. Regarding outsourcing production, one of the issues we came up with actually before we started diving into management was the issue of bogus self-employment. Regarding outsourcing the fat, make no mistake about it, it is the fat of RTE that is going to be privatised. There was bogus self-employment in RTE but this will not be counted as bogus self-employment when it is in the independent sector. As outlined already, there will be contractors and individual companies, they will not have union representation or terms and conditions and they will have "if and when" contracts. That is a very uncertain way to live when the cost of a house in Dublin is so high and when someone has to have a permanent job and income to get a mortgage.

Coimisiún na Meán's broadcasting levy on independent radio stations increased by 29% this year. I know it is a bit detached from this Bill but I want the Minister of State to hear this. The figure is 69% on average over two years. The figure for the radio station in my area is 2.8% of turnover - not profit. We are talking about nearly 3% of turnover. That is a huge levy and that is on top of all the other overheads that have gone up, such as wages, although it is good that they have gone up, along with insurance and energy. They are competing with tech giants and other platforms and it is important that this is reined in. Coimisiún na Meán says it is committed to ensuring value for money by maximising cost-effectiveness. The Minister of State has a responsibility to make sure of that and I would ask her to address that latest hike. Could she engage with Coimisiún na Meán on that? The outsourcing is the main issue of concern in the Bill, however.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

It will not comes as a shock to Members that I have a particular problem with the legislation in that it does not deal with the issue of geoblocking, in respect of which Sinn Féin had proposed a measure, and how wrong it is that RTÉ programmes and particular events, including sporting events, are not available to those in the North. We hear the Taoiseach talk about the shared island unit and we do not actually see the proper outworking.

This is a very simple thing that could have been provided and it would show an interest in the North from the Government here. It is just another let down in a long number of let downs. I would like to think that the Minister of State would understand that, and have conversations with the Government about the fact that it is something that really needs to be looked at.

The only thing there will be consensus on is the idea of RTÉ coming under the Comptroller and Auditor General. We will all be happy when we are not dealing with further revelations around pay and whether someone is a presenter or a producer or not, and the ins and outs of sideways payments. That is all before we talk about those others who suffered under bogus self-employment. We know that is an issue that has been rife in many industries.

What did not come as a shock to me was the issue Deputy Boyd Barrett brought up not only in relation to RTÉ but those in the independent sector, and the fact we do not have a decent framework for those working in it. There are many crew and whatever else who work across the audiovisual sector in general who will speak about how they have never had their rights as workers. Now we are talking about a greater number who will not even have an opportunity for that if they are going to be recorded as self-employed.

We have seen the issue around producers who pull down State money and who create designated activity companies, DACs, for running projects such as film production. Then when somebody wants to use the industrial relations framework to ensure they have their rights, it is not available to them because they are not really an employee. How could they be an employee of a DAC that disappears after every project? The fact is that it is the producers that pull down the money.

There is a need to deal with this issue and, unfortunately, it is another one of these cases where we end up being like a broken record because the issue is not dealt with. That is why there is a huge amount of unease around the fact that Screen Producers Ireland, SPI, as producers and the representative body for producers gets State money. The Tánaiste and others have given promises in the Chamber to me, to Deputy Ó Snodaigh, in particular, and to Deputies Joanna Byrne and Boyd Barrett but we need to see the outworking and the results because that is what those who work in the industry require.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the flexibility she showed me by allowing me to come in at this stage. Given the day that is in it, I want to commend the FTD brothers, Jordan and Cian Adams, who finished off their marathon in Merrion Square Park. It is absolutely fabulous that they have completed 33 marathons in 33 days. I barely clung along with them in Dundalk.

An Ceann Comhairle

Broadcasting at its best.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

I would like to think that RTÉ and others would follow it.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Public service.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

It was in remembrance of their mother, Geraldine, who had frontotemporal dementia. She was diagnosed in her 40s and died at 52 years of age. Unfortunately for the two boys, they have that particular gene. Today was obviously a great day for them and for the whole community. There was great support shown across Ireland. In fairness, they spoke about the good news that their sister does not have it. I commend them.

Debate adjourned.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 28 May 2026

Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage

Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 28 May 2026