Regarding amendments Nos. 75 and 76, I am still considering this matter in the context of bringing a possible amendment on Dáil Committee Stage. The Senator made some important points regarding the use of the term "harm or offence". My officials are consulting the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland regarding the existing practical operation of this provision. It will be important that any amendment that may be brought forward does not have unintended effects. Accordingly, I do not propose to accept these amendments.…

I thank the Senators for their amendments. On the commercial communications for gambling, given that the gambling authority of Ireland to be established by the gambling regulation Bill will issue codes in respect of advertising, including in relation to online gambling, I do not propose to accept amendments Nos. 80, 93 or 109. On the issue of speculative financial activities, I note that the Central Bank of Ireland regulates the advertising of financial activities by financial services firms under its remit. The ru…

I thank the Senator for his amendment. As I set out on Committee Stage, I acknowledge that the use of the term "party political programme" rather than "party political broadcast", may give rise to some interpretative confusion if it is not clarified. In the Bill as initiated, the term "party political programme" was used instead of "party political broadcast" to ensure that the relevant sections covered both broadcasting services and video-on-demand services. Following the Committee Stage debate on the matter, I as…

I thank Senator Sherlock for bringing forward amendment No. 84 today. I acknowledge the work she is doing in this area, including the recent publication of a Bill last week. I will address the first point of the amendment setting out that broadcast programmes should reflect the participation and be responsive to the interests of all groups. I have sought to address this issue as broadly as possible through amendment No. 11, which requires coimisiún na meán to bear in mind the participation and representation of the…

Amendments Nos. 89 and 90 address an issue raised by a number of Senators to explicitly provide for specific matters concerning commercial communications, which coimisiún na meán may regulate through media service codes, including in relation to infant and follow-on formula. I commend the quality of the debate on this issue during Committee Stage and assure Senators that I have given this matter due consideration. As Senators are aware, the Bill as published conferred broad powers on an coimisiún to regulate commer…

On the query raised by Senator Higgins, following advice from the Office of the Attorney General, the language will not only prohibit but may also restrict and it is in line with the commission's general powers.

As I said on Committee Stage, conversion therapy is an abhorrent practice, which is why the programme for Government includes a commitment to legislate to ban its practice. As Senators will be aware, my colleague the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is leading this initiative. I understand how distressing it can be for LGBTI+ people to encounter advertisements for conversion therapy. Following the commitment I gave on Committee Stage to considering the matter, my officials have been engaging with officials in the Departm…

As we discussed on Committee Stage, I do not see the rationale for setting a time period in legislation for public consultation on a media service code or rule. Given the principles underpinning the establishment of coimisiún na meán, I do not anticipate an coimisiún running a time-constrained public consultation process to deliberately avoid scrutiny. Accordingly, I cannot accept the amendment.

Amendment No. 97 addresses a matter raised by Senators Higgins and Ruane on Committee Stage regarding inserting a time period within which an coimisiún would be required to notify a complainant when his or her complaint was referred to a broadcaster or provider of a video on-demand service or was dismissed. The purpose of this amendment is to require coimisiún na meán to notify a complainant within 30 days of any referral of his or her complaint to a broadcaster or provider of a video on-demand service or of the di…

I have addressed the intention of amendment No. 98 as regards commercial communications in respect of food through amendment No. 105, which will be discussed later. As regards the references to gambling, alcohol and weapons, I note that the gambling regulation Bill will regulate the advertisement of gambling, that alcohol advertising is regulated under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, and that the Bill as published already provides for an coimisiún to create online safety codes to ensure "that service providers tak…

Amendment No. 99 would amend section 139E of the Broadcasting Act as amended by the Bill, which relates to the process for designating online services for regulation and the matters which an coimisiún shall have regard to when deciding to make a designation. As I stated on Committee Stage, I do not see the relevance of inserting a reference to an individual UN convention in this context and accordingly I cannot accept the amendment.

We had a respectful debate on this matter on Committee Stage. As I said then, we both agree that an coimisiún must be conferred with robust and proportionate powers of investigation and compliance in order to discharge its functions effectively. This is particularly important when we are considering compliance with online safety codes addressing harmful online content. As I said on Committee Stage, I respect the intention of the Senator's amendment, but my advice remains the same. I cannot accept the amendments for…

As regards amendment No. 102, it is important to acknowledge that there is a very real issue with young children accessing online services that were not designed with them in mind. It is an issue that I am particularly aware of, both as a parent of young children and as the chair of the National Advisory Council for Online Safety, which recently released a comprehensive report on children's online safety. In May, the European Commission launched a new European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids. This strategy …

Amendment No. 105 and its consequential amendments Nos. 114 and 115 address an issue raised by a number of Senators to explicitly provide for specific matters concerning commercial communications that coimisiún na meán may regulate through online safety codes. I commend the quality of the debate on this issue on Committee Stage and assure Senators that I have given the matter due consideration. The amendments I have tabled explicitly provide coimisiún na meán with the power to prohibit or restrict through online sa…

Amendment No. 106 appears to be a reference to section 30 of the Data Protection Act 2018 regarding direct marketing profiling and microtargeting. The commencement of that section of the Act is a matter for the Minister for Justice.

The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill and the Digital Services Act, DSA, are complementary pieces of legislation. One of the key drivers of the Bill is the implementation of the revised audiovisual media services directive, AMSD, into Irish law. The implementation of the directive in respect of online services, specifically video-sharing platform services, is provided for under the regulatory framework for online safety in this Bill. In this regard, the AMSD is explicitly recognised by the DSA as a distinct a…

We are regulating for Ireland, not the whole of the EU, with regard to private messaging.

Amendment No. 123 and its consequential amendments Nos. 118 to 122, inclusive, address the matter raised by a number of Senators and explicitly provide for specific matters concerning commercial communications which coimisiún na meán may regulate through online safety codes. The purpose of these amendments is to give further effect to these matters by providing that coimisiún na meán may consult a public health authority before making any such provision in an online safety code. This mirrors the existing similar pr…

Amendment No. 124 addresses a matter raised by Senators Higgins and Ruane on Committee Stage. The purpose of this amendment is to require coimisiún na meán to publish any reports regarding the operation of online safety codes it provides to the Minister on its website.

Amendment No. 127 addresses a matter raised by Senators Higgins and Ruane on Committee Stage. The purpose of this amendment is to require coimisiún na meán to publish any rules it may make regarding the conduct of investigations by authorised officers on its website. I note that these particular rules would, in any case, be made by statutory instrument and published as a matter of course.