I move amendment No. 19: In page 27, line 32, to delete "approval" and substitute "consent".

I move amendment No. 20: In page 27, line 36, to delete "consent" and substitute "approval".

I move amendment No. 21: In page 27, line 37, to delete "approval" and substitute "consent".

I move amendment No. 22: In page 28, line 1, to delete "consent" and substitute "approval".

I move amendment No. 23: In page 28, line 1, to delete "approval" and substitute "consent".

I move amendment No. 24: In page 28, line 20, to delete "consent" and substitute "approval".

I move amendment No. 25: In page 28, line 21, to delete "approval" and substitute "consent".

I move amendment No. 26: In page 29, line 6, to delete "consent" and substitute "approval".

I move amendment No. 27: In page 29, line 6, to delete "approval" and substitute "consent".

I move amendment No. 30: In page 30, line 8, to delete "consent" and substitute "approval".

I move amendment No. 31: In page 30, line 8, to delete "and" and substitute ", given with the consent of".

As a proud Monaghan woman, I fully agree with the Deputies on the public service value of the independent radio sector, particularly at local and regional level. I am sure Deputy Munster and I, living near each other as we do, listen to and value the same local and regional radio. Local radio stations are the very essence of public service broadcasting and, as Deputy Cannon and others said, they have proved a lifeline for many, particularly at the height of the Covid crisis, by providing critical local information …

We are all in agreement on the real value of the independent radio sector. I appreciate the responses from Deputies. I will make that report available when it comes and, as I said, I am asking for it to be brought to me within 100 days. I will bring Deputy Cannon's concerns on the sound and vision application process to the BAI too. Although I am not accepting the amendment, I am committing to writing to the BAI this week so that I have robust and independent data in advance of any decisions that might be made on t…

Similar to Deputy Cannon's point, it is about the process. The Deputy is saying it is about the length of time but it is about that scheme overall so I will bring those concerns to the BAI.

I move amendment No. 33: In page 34, lines 12 and 13, to delete “publish, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform,” and substitute the following: “, with the approval of the Minister, given with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, publish”.

Amendment No. 38 would have the effect of preventing an coimisiún from co-operating with groups in the establishment of standards or self-regulatory systems as they relate to commercial communications. As I stated on Committee Stage of the Bill going through the Dáil, I cannot accept this amendment as it would appear to contradict the audiovisual media services directive.

Section 34 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, as amended by section 7 of the Bill, is drafted in line with the revised audiovisual media services directive, and allows the commission to co-operate with self-regulatory mechanisms. Articles 9(3) and 9(4) of the directive set out the requirements on member states to encourage self-regulation in respect of commercial communications, including advertising. I cannot accept the amendment as it appears to contradict the audiovisual media services directive. The Bill will not be…

Amendment No. 39 would require an coimisiún to make a report setting out concrete steps for how media services providers established in Ireland, including RTÉ and TG4, can make their services widely available on an all-island basis. It should be noted that RTÉ and TG4 are currently obliged, insofar as possible, to provide their services to the whole of the island. As identified in the amendment, key to the goal would be all media service providers obtaining or retaining the rights to programmes in two jurisdictions…

As I noted when the issue was raised previously during this Bill's passage through the Houses, I understand the intention of the amendment and why it would be troubling for people living on the island of Ireland watching their public service broadcasters to see their part of the island of Ireland removed from maps. That goes to the core of the issue raised by Deputy Daly. However, I do not think we should prescribe in legislation in this level of detail what maps or geographical areas RTÉ and TG4 can or cannot disp…

The amendment would have the effect of obliging coimisiún na meán to make a report and recommendations on how the State could make available broadcasts of sports events both within and outside the jurisdiction of the State. It would also have the effect of introducing conditionality on the availability of grants from Sport Ireland to sporting bodies linked to the availability of any broadcast, whether live or not, of their events on an all-island basis. The rights to sporting events are a commercial matter between …