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.

Sentiment score: 0.07