Tairgim: "Go léifear an Bille don Dara hUair anois." This is an important Bill, and I am happy to bring it to the House on behalf of the Minister. The main aim of the Bill is to implement the European Media Freedom Act, EMFA, in Irish law. EMFA is an EU regulation which puts in place new rules to protect media freedom and pluralism in the EU and strengthen the internal market for media services. A free and independent media is a cornerstone of democracy and essential for healthy public debate. In an increasingly challenging environment for journalism, we can be thankful that Ireland has a strong constitutional and legislative foundation for the freedom of expression and safeguarding of media independence. However, we cannot take this for granted and we must modernise and further strengthen our legislative framework to take account of the transformation of the sector. EMFA is wide ranging, and not all of its provisions are reflected in the Bill we are discussing here. This is because EMFA is an EU regulation and, as all Members know, is directly applicable in Irish law. Alongside this, the Irish regulatory framework for media is already well aligned with the main provisions of EMFA. Therefore, many of EMFA's provisions do not require further implementation in Irish law. This Bill is focused primarily on two areas of EMFA that do require further implementation: the amendment of our existing media mergers regime and the introduction of new rules to increase transparency in the allocation of advertising by public bodies. Other areas of EMFA that require further implementation relate to the independence of public service media and the protection of journalistic sources, and they are being progressed through other legislation. I will deal with the key areas of this Bill in summary first and I will briefly outline how other elements of EMFA will be implemented. Given the time available, I will focus on the main elements of the Bill but officials are available to provide details on all aspects of it if Deputies have specific queries. Ireland's existing media mergers regime is set out in the Competition Act 2002, as amended. It is an important protection for media plurality and aims to prevent the concentration of media ownership into the hands of a small number of people. This Bill will broadly maintain the approach of the current framework while making some targeted changes to ensure that it is operating efficiently and fully in line with EMFA. Under the current legislation, all media mergers must be notified first to the CCPC, which assesses the transaction on competition grounds. If approved by the CCPC, the media merger will then come to the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport for assessment on the grounds of media plurality, and it is then for the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to make a determination. The Bill will transfer responsibility for this media plurality assessment to Coimisiún na Meán. This is in line with EMFA, which requires that national media regulators, as designated under the audiovisual media services directive, are responsible for or substantively involved in the assessment of media mergers. The transfer of responsibility to Coimisiún na Meán will leverage its expertise in relation to media plurality, particularly in relation to online media, which is set to become an increasingly prominent part of the media mergers regime. Moreover, Coimisiún na Meán's status as an independent regulator will further strengthen the integrity of the process and reduce any individual or potential perception of a political element to decisions in relation to media mergers. The Bill will also broaden the scope of the existing media mergers regime, most notably to include online platforms. This is a requirement under EMFA and reflects the digital transformation of the sector in recent years and the impact that online platforms have on media plurality. The scope of the legislation will also be broadened to include a merger involving a single media business, rather than requiring the involvement of at least two media businesses, as is currently the case. Finally, the new regime will apply to all media businesses, in contrast to the current framework, which is focused predominantly on media consisting substantially of news and current affairs. Separately, the Bill seeks to ensure the media mergers regime is focused on those media mergers that are likely to have a significant impact on media plurality or editorial independence in the State. Under the Bill, for a media merger to be automatically notified to an coimisiún for assessment, the media business being acquired must have a turnover of at least €2 million in Ireland. The Bill provides that the Minister may modify this monetary amount by order, with the approval of the Oireachtas. This is to allow the regime to take account of market developments. The introduction of a turnover threshold addresses an issue that has arisen in recent years with the existing media mergers regime where an increasing number of media mergers with limited connection to Ireland have been required to be notified for assessment. An example would be a merger where an international media business with operations in Ireland acquires a foreign media business with no activity in Ireland. These mergers are highly unlikely to have any impact on media plurality in the State and their removal from scope will remove this unnecessary regulatory burden for businesses. It will ensure that the media mergers regime is proportionate and can continue to operate efficiently with a focus on the most impactful mergers. Coimisiún na Meán will be able to "call in" or require the notification of mergers that do not meet the criteria for automatic notification where it is of the view that there is likely to be a significant impact on media plurality or editorial independence. This new power would be of relevance, for example, in the context of mergers involving local media, where the turnover of entities is low yet there is still a potential impact on plurality in the local context. A further example would be cases where the target is in its infancy with low revenues but has significant market share and the potential to have a significant impact on plurality. The Bill will also strengthen Coimisiún na Meán's enforcement powers by creating a number of new offences, including for failure to provide information requested or for putting a merger into effect without approval. Where a merger has been put into effect without approval, Coimisiún na Meán will have the power to unwind that merger. Overall, these changes will strengthen and modernise our media mergers framework, ensuring that it remains an effective protection for media plurality and is in full compliance with EMFA. I will deal next with the provisions relating to State advertising. Advertising by public bodies is an important source of revenue for many media organisations. Yet, in most EU member states, there are no specific rules as to how advertising expenditure by public bodies is advertised. This could lead to a situation where advertising could be used as a potential source of political influence over the media. This is why EMFA sets out new transparency requirements in relation to expenditure on advertising by public bodies. Under EMFA, public bodies must ensure that expenditure on advertising with media services or online platforms is allocated in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. Public bodies must set out appropriate criteria and procedures to be utilised in allocating advertising expenditure. Public bodies must also publish information on an annual basis regarding the total amount spent on advertising and the amount spent with individual media services and online platforms. While broader public procurement rules and Irish language requirements under the Official Languages Act 2003 apply to advertising by public bodies, there is no overall framework for transparency of State advertising in Ireland, as envisaged under EMFA. The Bill contains a number of implementing provisions to give full effect to these requirements. It sets out a broad definition of "public authority or entity" to include: Departments; local authorities; regulators and entities controlled by the Government; and commercial State companies. The Bill also sets out detailed timelines for the publication of expenditure information by such bodies and it obliges them to publish a plan for compliance with the requirements of EMFA, setting out the criteria and procedures they will use to award State advertising. Public bodies must seek to ensure that, where possible, the overall yearly expenditure on advertising is distributed to a wide plurality of media service providers. The Bill entrusts Coimisiún na Meán with the task of monitoring expenditure on State advertising and producing an annual report based on the information published by public bodies. An coimisiún will also be responsible for developing guidelines to assist public bodies in fulfilling their obligations. The Bill will also designate Coimisiún na Meán as the body responsible for a number of other tasks under EMFA. First, it will be responsible for the development of a media-ownership database containing information on the ownership of all media services in the State. This is a task that, in practice, an coimisiún is already undertaking through the mediaownership.ie website, which has been developed with DCU and has been operational since 2020. The Bill will place the requirements for such a database on a statutory basis and set out how it needs to be developed further in line with EMFA case requirements. In addition, an coimisiún will be tasked with engaging with industry to promote transparency around audience measurement systems. This is a technical area, and EMFA provisions are primarily intended to address a lack of transparency in relation to audience measurement online. For example, in Ireland there are existing industry standard audience-measurement systems for TV under TAM Ireland and for radio under JNLR. However, there is no equivalent industry standard for online audience measurement. Coimisiún na Meán's role will be to engage with audience measurement providers operating outside of industry agreed standards. In particular, that refers to online platforms and streaming services. It will encourage them to draw up and adhere to jointly agreed codes of conduct. It is important that some provisions of EMFA will be implemented separately from this Bill. EMFA sets out a number of safeguards to protect the independence of public service media, such as RTÉ and TG4. These safeguards are being implemented as part of wider reforms of public service media governance through the broadcasting (amendment) Bill, which is on the priority list for publication this session. The Bill includes revised procedures for the appointment of a director general of a public service broadcaster and a reform system for assessing the performance and funding of RTÉ and TG4. EMFA also seeks to strengthen the protection of journalistic sources by placing certain limits on State powers of investigation. These provisions will require the amendment of criminal justice legislation and, as such, are being taken forward by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. Work is ongoing in relation to the Garda Síochána (powers) Bill and the communications (interception and lawful access) Bill. The Department of justice is considering other necessary legislative reforms to ensure compliance with EMFA as part of its wider legislative reform programme. I now turn to a more detailed overview of the provisions of the Bill. Part 1 includes standard provisions setting out the Title to the Bill and key definitions used throughout. It also repeals certain sections of Part 3(a) of the Competition Act 2002. Part 2, which is important, amends the media mergers framework under the Competition Act 2002 to ensure its full alignment with EMFA. Chapter 1 sets out transitional arrangements relating to the transfer of the media mergers function from the Minister to Coimisiún na Meán. Chapter 2 includes the detailed amendments of the media mergers framework under Part 3(a) of the Act. Section 10 amends a number of definitions including the definition of "media business and media merger" to align the scope of the media mergers framework with that envisaged under EMFA. Section 11 inserts a new definition of "carries on a media business in the State" in order to establish a turnover threshold for notification of a media merger of €2 million. Section 13 provides Coimisiún na Meán with a new power to require notification of a merger which does not meet the definition of a media merger, where it is of the view that the merger may have a significant impact on media pluralism or editorial independence. Sections 15 to 17, inclusive, set out the process for the examination of a merger by Coimisiún na Meán. The Bill retains the existing two-stage process, while incorporating new elements required under EMFA. Under Section 17, Coimisiún na Meán will also have the power, following an in-depth full examination, to unwind or dissolve a merger or acquisition that was put into effect without approval. Section 19 requires that the parties to a merger will have the right to appeal to the High Court against a decision of Coimisiún na Meán in relation to a merger. Section 24 will require Coimisiún na Meán to develop and maintain a national media ownership database in line with EMFA requirements. Section 24 also expands Coimisiún na Meán's existing report on ownership and control of media business in the State to cover broader media market developments, including trends in consumption and relevant economic data. This will provide a clearer picture of media plurality in the State and a stronger evidence base for decisions in relation to media emergence. Chapter 3 sets out a number of consequential amendments to Part 3 of the Competition Act 2002, which deals with the assessment of mergers from a competition perspective. Part 3 sets out implementing provisions to give full effect to the requirements of EMFA on State advertising. Section 31 sets out a detailed definition of "public authority or entity" to provide clarity as to whom the requirements of EMFA will apply. Section 32 obliges public bodies to seek to ensure, where practicable, that their yearly expenditure on advertising is distributed to a wide plurality of media service providers. Section 33 requires public bodies to publish a plan for compliance with the requirements of EMFA, setting out the procedures and criteria they will apply in awarding contracts for State advertising. Section 34 sets out detailed timelines for the annual publication of information by public bodies in relation to their advertising expenditure. Section 35 designates Coimisiún na Meán as the body responsible for monitoring and producing an annual report on State advertising based on the expenditure information published by public bodies. Section 36 enables Coimisiún na Meán to develop guidelines to assist public bodies in meeting their responsibilities in relation to State advertising. Part 4 amends section 34 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 to provide that Coimisiún na Meán may co-operate with industry and encourage the drawing up of codes of conduct to promote transparency in audience measurement. The Bill seeks to implement a number of important amendments to our regulatory framework that will further strengthen our existing protections for media freedom and pluralism. The Minister looks forward to working with all in this House as we debate these issues in the coming weeks. There is an urgency in respect of this Bill.

Sentiment score: 0.21

The Deputy never fails.

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I thank Members for their valuable and considered contributions and their constructive approach to the Bill. As a general point, I want to emphasise that the core aim of this Bill is to implement EMFA, which is a landmark part of EU legislation that is designed to protect media freedom. The European Commission proposed the European Media Freedom Act as a response to worrying trends in relation to media freedom in certain European countries. It was not developed specifically with the Irish context in mind. However, the principles on which the regulation is based, namely respect for editorial independence and freedom of expression are clearly enshrined in Irish law. In providing for its full and effective implementation, we have an opportunity to introduce another layer of protection for the free and pluralistic media system that we already have. In the current climate, it is clear that a diverse and independent media is essential for healthy democratic debate. We must ensure that the protections we have in place for media freedom and plurality are further strengthened and modernised. This is important legislation and I hope we can progress it as quickly as possible. I have a general comment to make before I go to what some of our colleagues have proposed. It is that not all aspects of EMFA are being dealt with in this Bill. We also have the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill and a number of other items of legislation that are being progressed by the Department of justice that will progress other aspects. A number of significant issues were raised. I will seek to address them. I welcome the broad support for this legislation. People have issues with the Bill. Perhaps one or two may not support it, but there was certainly very broad support for it. Some of the specifics that were raised by Deputies Joanna Byrne and Ó Murchú include the already high concentration of ownership in the media sector. It is important to say that Coimisiún na Meán's power to prevent a media merger only falls to be exercised in the event that a merger takes place. This Bill does not provide for an ongoing regulatory function in respect of media ownership. The Minister does not believe that this would be appropriate. It is also not required under EMFA. While the Irish market is relatively concentrated, this is always going to be the case given the small number of media markets. Issues were also raised about why there are no quantitative limits on media ownership. This regulation does not require the introduction of what are termed bright-line limits on media ownership. In this context, bright-line limits mean putting a figure into legislation setting out the maximum amount of market share a single entity could hold in any given market. While the Minister believes that in principle there could be a reasonable argument for such an approach, it is overly rigid and it could face numerous difficulties in practice. For these reasons, it is not proposed to set legislative limits on ownership for the media market. It is preferable to continue to assess media mergers on a case-by-case basis and, crucially, on the basis of guidelines in this area to be developed by Coimisiún na Meán. Deputies Robert O'Donoghue, Joanna Byrne, Ó Murchú and Malcolm Byrne raised issues around a fair share of advertising being awarded to local independent radio. It is important to say that the purpose of EMFA's provisions on state advertising is to increase transparency as to how such advertising is allocated. It is not intended to support any particular sector over another. The Bill obliges each public body to seek to ensure that its overall expenditure on advertising is distributed to as wide a plurality of media as is practicable. That does not mean that every media provider should receive a portion of funding from all advertising campaigns, but it does mean that public bodies should adhere to their own published criteria when they allocate expenditure. By obliging public bodies to be transparent and to publish data on expenditure, and providing for Coimisiún na Meán to compile an annual report, anomalies or outliers will be identified. There will be an evidence base that will allow for such issues to be addressed. Coimisiún na Meán is tasked with monitoring expenditure on State advertising and producing an annual report based on this information. A number of Deputies, including Deputy Robert O'Donoghue, spoke about the fact that we are members of the new European Board for Media Services. I agree that this issue does not stop at EU borders. Its role is to promote a consistent application of EU media law and this framework, including EMFA, and of course the audiovisual media services directive. He also agreed on the €2 million threshold, which I believe is proportionate. This largely came into being after the public consultation. Deputies Malcolm Byrne and Gogarty told us that Ireland is consistently rated as good by Reporters Without Borders. It is critical to say that this would be the case for any democracy. Local media play a hugely important role. Deputies Michael Collins, Malcolm Byrne and Gogarty all emphasise their importance, for example, in reporting local authority meetings and decisions that are taken there. That plays a hugely constructive role in connecting local decisions to the people impacted by those decisions. My local radio station, Ocean FM, has won a number of awards for its coverage of local and national elections because it brings every listener into the count centre. It is not just about providing data and figures but also conveying the atmosphere, the highs and the lows of an election. The presenters have a great way of making everybody listening feel connected in a tangible and real way to the whole democratic process. I noted the comments by Deputies Boyd Barrett and Coppinger regarding public service media. The European Media Freedom Act introduces a number of safeguards to protect the independence of public service media such as RTÉ. Member states must ensure public service media are independent and that they provide a variety of information to their audiences in an impartial way. The procedures for the appointment and dismissal of the heads of management of public service media providers aim to guarantee their independence. Funding procedures are based on transparent and objective criteria and seek to guarantee that public service media have adequate resources to fulfil their remit and safeguard editorial independence. I agree that some of the issues the Deputies raised are covered by this legislation and some are not. Coimisiún na Meán has existing expertise in relation to media plurality and currently undertakes a similar function in assessing changes of ownership in respect of broadcasting licences, which was an issue raised by the Deputies. Deputy Barry Ward spoke about there sometimes being disproportionate coverage of events that occur in the English-speaking world. He referred to RTÉ in that context and also mentioned advertising. He highlighted the increasing number of advertisements in the Irish language, which helps to rebalance the situation. A number of TDs raised issues in regard to the moving of certain roles from the Minister to an coimisiún. This is seen as depoliticising those issues. Some, including Deputy Gogarty and the Minister, are in favour of this move. Others are against it, including Deputies Coppinger and Michael Collins. My view is that the Bill sets out a reasonable and balanced way forward on this issue. I thank Deputies for their contributions. I look forward to Committee Stage, when there will be an opportunity to tease out and address some of the key issues that have been raised on Second Stage.

Sentiment score: 0.27