Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 June 2026
216. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on all inputs that his Department made prior to the adoption of regulation EU 2024/900; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45084/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra229. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details of all inputs that his Department made prior to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2024/900; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44741/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 216 and 229 together.
Regulation (EU) 2024/900 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transparency and targeting of political advertising was adopted by the European institutions on 13 March 2024. The principal objective of the Regulation is to make it easier for voters to recognise political advertisements, understand who is behind them and know whether they have received a targeted advertisement, so that they are better placed to make informed choices during elections and referendums.
Against this backdrop, the European Commission published its "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transparency and targeting of political advertising" on 25 November 2021. Over the course of 2022, the Working Group on General Affairs examined the Commission's proposal which led up to agreement on a general approach at the meeting of the General Affairs Council held on 13 December 2022. Ireland is represented on the Working Group on General Affairs by our Permanent Representation and, when required, my Department provided input to the Group.
Trialogue negotiations between the European institutions commenced on 28 February 2023 and concluded on 6 November 2023 with agreement reached on the text of what is now Regulation (EU) 2024/900. Again, when required, my Department provided our Permanent Representation with input over the course of those trialogue negotiations with the Commission and the representatives of the European Parliament.
In broad terms, Ireland supported the overall approach set out in the European Commission's proposal focussing as it did on bringing greater transparency around political advertising in general, and on the targeting of political advertising more specifically. This position was in line with the approach taken in Part 4 of our Electoral Reform Act 2022 which set out a national regulatory framework in respect of online paid political advertising. Part 4 was intended to strike an appropriate balance between preserving fundamental political freedoms on the one hand while ensuring transparency and accountability of online political advertising on the other, which at that time remained largely unregulated in Ireland and in other Member States of the European Union.
The European Union (Political Advertising) Regulations 2025 (S.I. No. 474 of 2025), which were made under section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972, facilitate the implementation in Ireland of Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. The European Union (Political Advertising) Regulations 2025 commenced to have effect directly in the State on 10 October 2025 in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2024/900.
