Malcolm Byrne
Ceist:490. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to provide his definition of 'public service broadcasting'. [73337/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 18 December 2025
Ceisteanna (490)
Freagraí scríofa
The distinct role of public service broadcasting is recognised in Protocol No. 29 of the Treaty on the Function of the European Union (‘the Amsterdam Protocol’), which sets out the unique role of publicly owned and funded broadcasters in meeting the democratic, social and cultural needs of society. It provides the ultimate legal basis for the funding of our public service media providers, RTÉ and TG4.
Based on the Amsterdam Protocol, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), an EU Regulation, defines ‘public service media provider’ as a media service provider which is entrusted with a public service remit under national law and receives national public funding for the fulfilment of such a remit. The term ‘media provider’ is used in lieu of ‘broadcaster’ or ‘broadcasting’ to recognise that public service broadcasters today offer a wide range of media services, such as podcasts and video-on-demand services.
The Broadcasting Act 2009 defines ‘public service broadcaster’ as one of RTÉ, TG4 or the Houses of the Oireachtas Channel. These providers are publicly funded and their public service remit is set out in Sections 114, 118, and 125 of the Broadcasting Act, 2009 which, drawing on the Amsterdam Protocol, requires that the services they provide ‘shall have the character of a public service’.
The term ‘public service broadcasting’ is referenced a number of times in the extant Broadcasting Act 2009, in particular in relation to criteria for membership of the boards of RTÉ or TG4, but is not specifically defined in that context. I consider that it is timely to provide a specific definition in law which reflects that public service broadcasting today means the provision of a range of media services directly related to the democratic, social and cultural needs of society by a media service provider which is entrusted with a public service remit under national law, receives public funding for the express purpose of fulfilling that remit and which is a public body. I intend that this will be reflected in the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill when it is published.
While recognising the specific role of public service media providers, it is also vital that we recognise that the wider media sector also provides public service content which informs, educates and entertains. The General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill provides for a definition of public service content and a new statutory framework to fund the production, distribution and archiving of public service content by the wider media sector on a platform-neutral basis. Significant public support is already available for public service content, with funding for schemes to support the provision of content by and capacity of the wider media sector rising from €29.8m in 2025 to €40.1m in 2026, financed by licence fee revenue, Exchequer support and the Shared Island Fund.