I welcome that and I appreciate the concern. However, that is precisely the intention behind the amendment. I worry that if time elapses there may be other reasons that committees are needed. There may be a need to set up a committee on, for instance, how one deals with broadcasting in the metaverse in the future. The core reasons that this commission is being set up are to address the issues of online safety and to ensure there is access to information on digital and media literacy for young people. These are amon…

Yes.

Am I allowed to ask a question of the Minister of State before I answer?

I think this is important. We worked in a very collegial way, both in this House and in the committee, and we are being told on many amendments that the Minister will go away and reflect on them. The Minister of State will appreciate this as the Chief Whip. Could we say that if the Minister's reflections do not take on board a lot of the proposed amendments coming forward, it is fair to say that the Government should not necessarily count on the support of all Senators with regard to this? Much work has gone into a…

I will withdraw the amendment, but I will reintroduce it on Report Stage.

On a point of order, I must challenge this interpretation. It comes back to the points on amendments being ruled out of order. This amendment is in many ways structurally no different to the previous amendments in that it proposes to specifically require the establishment of one of the sub-committees or committees to deal with broadcasting. In many ways, there is no difference to the proposal in the previous amendment and this one.

Yes, but I question why we are allowed to debate the establishment of a youth advisory panel as a sub-committee of the commission but not a specific committee to deal with broadcasting.

Absolutely.

All I will say on amendment No. 55 is that in the process of reflection that is going on, I urge that there would also be a requirement in terms of what is brought forward because we specifically want something to deal with broadcasting for fear that it will be lost in the overall area.

I am afraid I have some problems with a number of these amendments. The Senator touched on some of these herself. I have no problem with the oversight aspect but I believe the Senator is being overly prescriptive. I can foresee circumstances in which it would be required to borrow in dollars or another currency, particularly given the nature of the business the media commission is to be in. I do not want to get into a debate on the Central Bank and its granting of licences and so on because that is entirely differe…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The Minister of State’s role in ensuring action was taken on foot of the Moorhead report to address the terms of conditions for councillors needs to be acknowledged. The Minister of State provided great leadership in that regard and I know he continues to work closely with the representative bodies, the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, and Local Authorities Members Association, LAMA, in trying to ensure that the role of counci…

That was a comprehensive response, and reflects the Minister of State's understanding of and passion for local government. Councillors around the country are full of praise for his work in this area. One issue he did not refer to, however, and I appreciate the time constraints at work, was the general policy concerning the exclusion of councillors from State boards. It is written into nearly all legislation. A new media commission is being formed in the context of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022, w…

Along with the Cathaoirleach and the Leader, I welcome the Polish ambassador to our Chamber and recognise the great generosity of the people of Poland to those who are fleeing Putin's war in Ukraine, and the contribution of Polish people in Ireland. The ambassador's first trip outside of Dublin following her appointment was to Gorey where we have a very active Polish association. An enormous contribution is made by Polish people where I live and, indeed, throughout the country. I apologise for the absence of the De…

It is not quite a quote from one of my favourite poets and writers, Brendan Behan. We might reflect on this when we get all the brickbats thrown at us from those online who constantly attack us: Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it's done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves. I hope that when we face unfair criticism, we reflect on Behan's words. I celebrate the considerable contribution of our writers and poets.

I will speak to amendment No. 96, which reflects some concerns. It is slightly different from the other amendments, which speak to a determination of time for party political broadcasts. This speaks to the allocation of time for political programmes by public sector broadcasters. Some programmes are particularly balanced and have a Government and an Opposition representative. As the Minister will be aware, on an increasing number of programmes on RTÉ a Government representative has to face up to three Opposition re…

I agree with many of the points made by Senator Higgins. Regarding the Minister’s response, this is at the heart of our democracy. I refer to ensuring that all sides of a political argument get aired. It is important that discussion is based on evidence. As the Minister rightly stated, however, the political landscape has changed enormously, and it is important that a broad range of views is well reflected. Senator Higgins should be on television and radio more often. She is well able to articulate her point of vie…

I will speak to amendment No. 41, which is along similar lines to the other amendments.

Yes, profoundly modest as well. However, it goes a little further in providing that in naming an online safety commissioner, it will not prevent other commissioners from also having responsibility for online safety. The core point in all these amendments - we are coming at this from the same perspective - is that as part of the legislation one of the commissioners should have a very specific role and that he or she should be appointed as the online safety commissioner. When the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Media, …

I modestly thank Senator Higgins for her praise.

I hope the Minister does feel our love because we do appreciate all of the work she is doing on this. Her assurance is very welcome. I agree with others that there will be issues with regard to the resourcing of the office and so on, but explicitly providing for that is very welcome.