Broadcasting Sector
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Sinéad Gibney (SD), Dublin Rathdown

That interference, which is how I would describe it, or attempted interference, on the Minister's part was very different from this situation. His is a Government that has been in power for many terms now and it has built and established a statutory body to regulate this sector, so it is beyond me that he can say he has nothing to do with it. It is the Minister who is trying to have his cake and eat it by saying that this regulator can just be established and then let run. It is not interference to examine and engage with his agency on a disproportionate levy on radio of 2.8%, compared with TV at 1.2%, online services at 1.25% and streaming at 0.5%. This is an industry that, as I have said, is already under pressure. The Minister is the one who is trying to have his cake and eat it. He is trying to say he does not have anything to do with this when we know that independent local radio is being crushed. Meanwhile, the online sector, which is pumping out misinformation that local radio is trying to combat, which has taken all the ad revenue and which the Minister's Government is failing to regulate, is cleaning up.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-07