Media Regulation Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-11
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Evanne Ní Chuilinn (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Tá sé iontach go bhfuil sé anseo chun an Bille seo a phlé. This Bill is an important step in ensuring Ireland continues to have a viable, dynamic and trusted media landscape. It gives legislative effect to the European Media Freedom Act and strengthens the protections that underpin media independence and public trust.
The Bill introduces several key reforms. First, it transfers responsibility for overseeing media mergers from the Minister to Coimisiún na Meán, with new criteria to prevent excessive concentration of ownership. That is something that Senator Mullen has just touched on. Second, it requires the Departments and State agencies to publish annual reports on their advertising expenditure, ensuring transparency and fairness in how public money is allocated. Third, it empowers Coimisiún na Meán to develop new standards for audience measurement and to maintain a public database of media ownership. These are common-sense measures that work together to protect plurality, prevent dominance by any one organisation and ensure that public spending on advertising is transparent and equitable.
Ireland has long benefited from a media environment that is trusted and broadly non-polarised. This Bill helps to safeguard that environment at a time where many other countries are grappling with deeply divided and partisan media ecosystems. Under the European Media Freedom Act, Ireland must strengthen protections for journalistic sources, safeguard the independence of public service media, ensure transparency of ownership and standardise procedures for media mergers and audience measurement. While Ireland has already strong safeguards in place, this Bill aligns us fully with EU standards, as the Minister of State has said, and updates our regulatory framework for the digital era.
A central provision is the shift of media merger oversight to Coimisiún na Meán. This will help ensure that no individual or conglomerate can accumulate disproportionate influence. For decades, people in Ireland have been able to rely on a wide variety of media sources - print, broadcast and digital. Protecting that diversity is essential for public discourse and for democracy itself. We cannot assume we are immune to the polarisation seen elsewhere. Our shared facts, our trusted institutions and our broad media plurality are strengths worth protecting.
In that context, I want to acknowledge the vital role of our public service broadcaster. In an age of algorithms and disinformation, the integrity of RTÉ's news and current affairs output is more important than ever. Journalists, editors, news programme co-ordinators, NCOs, reporters and programme makers in the RTÉ newsroom and RTÉ news and current affairs have continued to uphold high standards, even when reporting on difficult issues within their own organisation. Their professionalism strengthens our democracy and they deserve recognition. I want to put that on the record of the Seanad.
This Bill also introduces new transparency requirements for public advertising. With digital platforms capturing an increasing share of advertising revenue, public spending now plays a more significant role in sustaining media organisations. It is essential the public can see where this money goes and that smaller and local outlets have fair access to public advertising opportunities.
The Bill significantly expands the role of Coimisiún na Meán. It will maintain a national media ownership database and develop shared codes for audience measurement, including for online platforms where metrics are often opaque. These steps enhance transparency, support competition and strengthen public trust. The provisions in this Bill are proportionate, practical and necessary. They protect media plurality, ensure transparency in State advertising and guard against the over-concentration of media power. They do so without placing undue burdens on media organisations, instead focusing on safeguarding the public interest and maintaining trust in our media landscape.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:03+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-11