I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann declines to give the Protection of Children (Online Pornographic Material) Bill 2020 a second reading on the basis that its scope is not in line with the remit of ComReg, its objectives are being pursued by the Government through other initiatives, it would likely infringe European Union law and the country-of-origin principle and the independence of our national regulatory processes.". Go raibh maith agaibh as an d…

Ar dtús báire ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabhail leis na Teachtaí as an méid a labhair siad faoin mBille seo. As I stated at the beginning of this debate, the issue of children accessing online material that is not appropriate for them, particularly pornography, is a serious matter. This is why the Government has acted and legislated for a new regulatory framework under the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, to be enforced by an independent expert regulator, Coimisiún na Meán. In bringing the Online Safety…

Why did Deputy Tóibín not contribute to the Bill at the time?

Did the Deputy attend the committee meetings?

The Deputy could have gone to the committees but he did not contribute to the Bill.

No, I think the Deputy may be feeling a little bit uncomfortable because he played no hand, act or part in the passage of that Bill.

I got a Bill through and enacted.

Deputy Tóibín was nowhere to be seen or heard.

Has the Deputy read the Bill?

Has he engaged with Coimisiún na Meán?

First, I want to acknowledge the absolute devastation across Cork and Waterford due to flooding yesterday. My thoughts are with homeowners and to people working in tourism and hospitality businesses in the region. I know the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Heather Humphreys, has activated the humanitarian assistance scheme which will give assistance to householders affected by flooding. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Simon Coveney, has committed to working with the local councils, …

As I have stated on many occasions, the Oireachtas is right to expect maximum transparency. The director general pledged to co-operate at the end of that particular meeting with requests in relation to that. He has co-operated with other queries from the Oireachtas and has given a significant amount of documentation. While RTÉ has provided certain details, on GDPR grounds it has stated that it is not possible to share certain information. I understand that the committee is frustrated with this and is anxious to hav…

As the Deputy knows, the investigation by the Department of Social Protection is ongoing. There are a large number of cases to be examined and adjudicated on. RTÉ is obliged to make provisions for such payments as they outlined last week at the meeting last week. This will be required to be paid and to correspond and to correct the PRSI contributions of the workers involved, as they are determined by the Department. RTÉ officials responded to the question of providing for the potential PRSI liabilities at the commi…

On the question of retrospection, these are employees and contractors of RTÉ and it is a matter for it to address any such questions. The rights of individuals must be protected. I am aware that previously, after the Eversheds review, RTÉ engaged with unions in a facilitated process to address questions of retrospective compensation but any future retrospective compensation is a matter for RTÉ and not me, as Minister.

This is a complex and nuanced issue. Screen industry contracting may vary from production to production with a range of production types from lower budget domestic productions to higher budget incoming international productions. There are different approaches to purchasing rights for film and television projects. Standard contracts between producers and creative rights holders vary from country to country, with different approaches throughout Europe. In this context, creatives currently operate under a range of dif…

I am aware of the communication with Deputies and understand that a petition that was handed in stated that every Irish performer and crew member deserves the right to appropriate and proportionate remuneration and that Irish performers will not be subject to lesser terms and conditions regarding their intellectual property rights than international performers in similar roles. I am in full agreement with those sentiments and want to see a sustainable screen industry in Ireland in which everyone is treated fairly a…

I am asking for any specific cases to be brought to the Department or to Screen Ireland. As the Deputy said, the section 481 cap was lifted. That was welcomed by stakeholders, including Irish Equity, which sought that. There is a process in place whereby Screen Ireland has put in an independent facilitator. There is that lack of clarity around the assignment of intellectual property in the screen industry. There is also a lack of clarity about the ability of some creatives to enter into collective bargaining. That …

I ask the Deputy to bring the specific examples to my attention. We need to be contacted and need the specific examples brought to the attention of the Department or of Screen Ireland. That is crucial in this. As regards the process, Screen Ireland has put in an independent facilitator, and that is really important. The Deputy asks for haste there, but haste sometimes can be the enemy of the good. The process needs to be given the proper time to give the stakeholders the time to flesh out the issues of concern. As …

While elements of the hospitality sector are also important parts of the wider tourism ecosystem, as Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media I do not have responsibility for the general hospitality sector or the food services sector. However, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and I co-chair the hospitality and tourism forum, which brings together regularly these two important and interrelated sectors. The Government has strongly supported the tourism and hospitality sectors t…

I agree on the knock-on impact on downstream tourism businesses. That is being felt and that is why, as part of the budget settlement, I have secured up to €10 million for tourism in 2024 for a comprehensive programme of supports targeted at downstream tourism businesses experiencing particular trading challenges linked to the reduction in footfall in respect of activities and attractions in regions most impacted by tourism bed stock displacement. This programme of supports includes investment in sustainable touris…