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Tuesday, 27 Jul 2021

Written Answers Nos. 480-496

Departmental Funding

Questions (480)

Johnny Guirke

Question:

480. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the last occasion on which a Department-wide review of all funding within his Department took place; the frequency of such reviews; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40641/21]

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Written answers

As the Deputy is aware, my Department operates in a constantly evolving strategic context. The Department will continue to adapt both its reform programme and expenditure monitoring and evaluation programme activities, so that it can deliver on Government objectives, EU commitments and support the economic, social and climate-related progress in keeping with the requirement to return to a broadly balanced budget over the medium term. In this context, the Department is engaged in reviewing its funding on an ongoing basis.

The Department is currently engaged in its annual estimates process where all of its expenditure and programme activities are reviewed. Each business unit returns a standard template reviewing its current year financial performance, as well as estimating the funds required for each to deliver its public goods. Later in the year, as part of the business planning process, each division within the Department outlines its deliverables for the following year and recalibrates its activities and funding requirements based on its appraisal of how its current public goods are being delivered.

Each month, the Management Board also reviews the financial performance and expenditure of the Department. It also carries out a value for money review of all IT and consultancy projects in excess of €25,000 twice a year.

As the challenges facing our society change, so too do the activities that are required to be undertaken by my Department. This has always been a key expenditure driver of the Department since its establishment in 2011. A recent example of this has been the establishment of the Construction Innovation Support subhead that will support and encourage the industry to develop and leverage technology to increase its productivity in partnership with a third level institution.

Child and Family Agency

Questions (481, 482, 483, 484)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

481. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on the pay restoration issue faced by social care workers (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40939/21]

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Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

482. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when her Department will commit to allocate funding to Tusla to enable similar pay restoration for section 56 part-funded agencies such as an agency (details supplied) given that a precedent has already been set with HSE section 39 pay restoration. [40940/21]

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Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

483. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the additional yearly funding requirement will be included in his Department’s 2021 budget through the revised estimates process. [40941/21]

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Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

484. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the additional yearly funding requirement be included in Department’s 2022 budget by default for each year hereafter. [40942/21]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 481 to 484, inclusive, together.

I appreciate the valuable work of the community and voluntary sector that provide services to children and families across Ireland. The issues raised in the Deputy’s questions relate to the funding of such organisations by Tusla. Under Section 56 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, the funding of these organisations is a matter for the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Question No. 482 answered with Question No. 481.
Question No. 483 answered with Question No. 481.
Question No. 484 answered with Question No. 481.

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Questions (485)

Ruairí Ó Murchú

Question:

485. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount spent on the Covid-19 support schemes in tabular form. [40982/21]

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Written answers

Across 2020 and 2021, Government will have made available over €31 billion for direct expenditure measures to support our people, businesses and key public services deal with the impacts of Covid-19.

Over €16½ billion was allocated during 2020 with provision for almost €12 billion made as part of Budget 2021 and further funding of approximately €3 billion to be allocated for the measures in the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP). Amounts provided across both years for some of the key schemes are indicated in the table below. Further details on the measures funded by the 2021 allocations are outlined in the Mid-Year Expenditure Report (MYER), published last week.

-

2020

2021

Total

-

€bn

€bn

€bn

Social Protection

10.1

10.1

20.1

of which: Pandemic Unemployment Payment

5.1

3.3

8.4

EWSS/TWSS

4.5

2.4

6.9

Other (illness benefit, activation measures, etc.)

0.5

1.5

2.0

ERP extension of the EWSS (Q3 2021)

1.2

1.2

ERP extension PUP

0.5

0.5

ERP provision for EWSS extension (Q4 2021)

1.2

1.2

Health

2.6

1.9

4.5

of which: capacity, equipment, PPE, testing

2.6

1.9

Education

0.3

0.3

0.6

of which: Roadmap for Reopening Schools

0.1

Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

0.3

0.1

0.5

Enterprise, Trade and Employment

0.9

0.3

1.3

of which: Liquidity supports and Business Restart Grants

0.5

July Stimulus including additional funds for Restart Grants

0.5

Business Support Schemes

0.3

Housing, Local Government and Heritage

1.1

0.5

1.6

of which: Commercial Rates Waiver

0.9

0.3

ERP extension to the Commercial Rates Waiver

0.2

Transport

0.6

0.4

1.0

of which: Public Service Obligation

0.5

0.4

Other Departments

0.6

0.4

1.0

Covid Contingency Fund - earmarked expenditure

0.7

0.7

TOTAL DIRECT EXPENDITURE

16.6

14.8

31.4

*Rounding affects totals

Finalised figures for actual spending of Covid-19 allocations in 2020 will be available when the 2020 Appropriation Accounts are completed, however a preliminary estimate is included in Annex 1 of the MYER.

Public Sector Pay

Questions (486)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

486. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated full year cost of repealing the FEMPI legislation. [41221/21]

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Written answers

The phased unwinding of the Financial Emergency legislation commenced under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015 and will be completed under the Public Services Pay and Pensions Act 2017 and the Public Service Pay Act 2021.

On 1 July 2021, under Section 19 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, pay restoration for all public servants with annualised salaries up to €150,000 was completed. This brought the proportion of public servants whose salaries have been fully restored up to 99%.

By 1 July 2022, Section 20 of the Act provides for the completion of FEMPI restoration for public servants with annualised basic salaries of more than €150,000.

The estimated full year cost of these measures is approximately €87m, based on public service numbers for Budget 2021.

Each year, under the terms of the FEMPI Act 2013, I am obliged to carry out an annual review of the operation, effectiveness and impact of the FEMPI Acts, having regard to the overall economic conditions in the State and national competitiveness. In this annual review, I am also to consider whether or not any of the provision of the relevant Acts continue to be necessary having regard to the purposes of those Acts, the revenues of the State and State commitments in respect of public service pay and pensions.

The 2021 annual review, a written report of which was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in June 2021, recommended the continuation of the unwinding of the FEMPI measures in line with the legislation.

Public Sector Pay

Questions (487)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

487. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated full year cost of paying all employed public sector staff on the pre-2011 pay grade. [41222/21]

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Written answers

The reduced new entrant pay scales for civil and public servants introduced in 2011 were abolished in 2013 under the Haddington Road Agreement, where it was agreed to merge the new scales and existing scales - typically by adding the lower two points of the new scale to the existing scale. As such there are no separate reduced pay scales for civil and public servants.

Under the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) 2018 – 2020, it was agreed to examine the remaining salary scale issues, associated with the addition of the extra points, for those recruited to entry grades after January 2011. The report, laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in March 2018, estimated the point in time cost of advancing new entrants to the public service two points along their incremental scales. The report estimated a cost of €199.8m in respect of 60,513 new entrants, an average cost of €3,300 per FTE.

The report is available to view here

https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/4035/071218124404-860d0916d18542c1baa10ffa7dc482d5.pdf#page=1

Following this report, negotiations with the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions took place over 2018 resulting in an agreement on new entrant salary scales being reached in September 2018.

The main components of the agreement are:

- where two additional scale points were applied to pay scales under the Haddington Road Agreement, it was agreed that there will be two separate interventions in the pay scales as they apply to new entrant public servants recruited since January 2011.

- the two separate interventions will take place at point 4 and point 8 of the pay scales. The practical effect of this is that for new entrants the relevant points on the scale will be bypassed, thereby reducing the time spent on the scale for progression to the maximum point.

- in situations where only one point was added to the existing pay scale under Haddington Road, then the first point (i.e. Point 4) is bypassed by eligible new entrants.

- this measure was applied from 1 March 2019 and will be applied to each new entrant as they reach the relevant scale points (point 4 and point 8) on their current increment date.

This is an agreement of considerable scale and complexity, each element of which was the product of negotiation with ICTU.

In respect of new entrant teachers the parties to Building Momentum 2021-2022 agreed that in final conclusion to the arrangements put in place in September 2018, as part of the Public Service Stability Agreement, 2018-2020, the following measures will be implemented to resolve in full the remaining salary scale issues pertaining to new entrant teachers.

- New entrant teachers who have been recruited since 1 January 2011, after progressing to point 11 of the teaching salary scale will, on their next increment date, move to point 13.

- New entrant teachers, recruited since 1 January 2011, who have already reached point 12 or higher on the teaching salary scale, will on their next increment date after the commencement of the Agreement, move one point further than they would under normal incremental progression.

These arrangements are set out in section 4.3 of the Agreement.

Public Sector Pay

Questions (488)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

488. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated full year cost of paying TDs all salary increments due between now and the end of 2022. [41223/21]

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Written answers

As the Deputy will be aware, TDs do not get incremental salary increases and instead are on a fixed point scale. There is therefore no cost in relation to increments.

Covid-19 Pandemic

Questions (489)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

489. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the EU Digital Covid Certificate used for travel and indoor dining indicates the time period after the second dose after which a person is considered fully vaccinated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41291/21]

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Written answers

My Department is working closely with other Departments and the HSE to ensure that EU Digital Covid Certificate (EU DCC) meets the Regulation as set down by the EU.

The EU DCC Regulation is intended to facilitate people’s fundamental right to move and reside freely and help to support the lifting of restrictions currently in place in a coordinated manner within the EU. It can be used by Member States for other domestic purposes. The EU DCC contains a limited amount of necessary information as outlined in the EU Regulation and in line with GDPR principles of data minimisation. It does not contain the time period after the second dose after which a person is considered fully vaccinated.

As per the EU Regulation, the data fields for the EU Digital Covid Vaccination Certificate are:

- name: surname(s) and forename(s), in that order;

- date of birth;

- disease or agent targeted: COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 or one of its variants);

- COVID-19 vaccine or prophylaxis;

- COVID-19 vaccine product name;

- COVID-19 vaccine marketing authorisation holder or manufacturer;

- number in a series of doses as well as the overall number of doses in the series;

- date of vaccination, indicating the date of the latest dose received;

- Member State or third country in which the vaccine was administered;

- certificate issuer;

- unique certificate identifier.

Individuals should receive their EU DCC when they are fully vaccinated. If the HSE has a valid email address from the vaccination process – individuals will get their DCC by email. Otherwise, they will get their certificate via post. These DCCs are currently being emailed or posted.

Cybersecurity Policy

Questions (490, 491, 492, 493)

Gary Gannon

Question:

490. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the role and powers of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in relation to information security throughout Government Departments and public agencies. [41402/21]

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Gary Gannon

Question:

491. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the service framework, governance framework and technical framework recommended by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer prior to the HSE ransomware attack. [41403/21]

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Gary Gannon

Question:

492. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the service framework, governance framework and technical framework recommended by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer since the HSE ransomware attack. [41404/21]

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Gary Gannon

Question:

493. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Government Chief Information Officer has any responsibilities in relation to national defence and security. [41405/21]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 490 to 493, inclusive, together.

The Office of the Government CIO (OGCIO), which is a division in my Department, is responsible for developing and implementing the Public Sector ICT Strategy and providing guidance, support and advice on a number of fronts. It ensures an integrated approach to the exploitation of ICT including, accelerating the delivery of digital services across all Departments and Public Service Bodies. The direction, support and guidance given by the OGCIO does not lessen the accountability of organisations which continue to be directly responsible for the effective and appropriate delivery of secure digital and ICT related initiatives.

The OGCIO in its role as a service provider to a number of Public Sector Bodies implements a multi-layered defence-in-depth approach to cybersecurity and to protecting ICT systems, infrastructures, and services and have developed an Information Security Management System (ISMS) aligned with the industry security standard ISO27001. This ISMS provides an overall governance framework for information security and sets out security policies, objectives, management oversight, practices and governance and ensures continual improvement of information security management. OGCIO’s defence-in-depth security strategy is achieved by utilisation of people, processes, and technology to support the implementation of ICT security services was in place before, and continues to be in place since, the HSE Ransomware attack.

The threat landscape is constantly evolving and significant effort is expended to continually enhance and strengthen ICT security to mitigate against emerging threats, risks, vulnerabilities and cybersecurity issues. In addition to deploying perimeter security measures, such as intrusion protection systems, software vulnerabilities are managed by maintaining up-to-date versions and aggressively deploying updates and patches to endpoints and applications as they become available. OGCIO also continues to work closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), in particular with regard to security strategy. The NCSC is a division of the Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment and encompasses the State's national/governmental Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT-IE). The NCSC works collaboratively with the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána and the National Security Analysis Centre (NSAC) in the Department of the Taoiseach.

Question No. 491 answered with Question No. 490.
Question No. 492 answered with Question No. 490.
Question No. 493 answered with Question No. 490.

Data Protection

Questions (494, 517, 518, 522, 523, 524)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

494. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will avail herself of the opportunity presented by sections 42 and 44 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 to introduce data protection exemptions for archiving purposes in the public interest and for historical research such as to be compatible with enhanced public access to the National Archives collections of non-Departmental material. [39780/21]

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Ivana Bacik

Question:

517. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the provisions that are in place currently to permit public access, inspection, copying and or publication of non-Departmental collections and documents and records in the National Archives and related repositories of such collections and documents managed or held by other public service organisations, including records of the Irish Land Commission formerly transferred to the Public Records Office under the now-repealed Irish Church Act Amendment Act, 1881. [39598/21]

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Ivana Bacik

Question:

518. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will avail herself of the opportunity presented by sections 42 and 44 of the Data Protection Act, 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 to introduce data protection exemptions for archiving purposes in the public interest and for historical research such as to be compatible with enhanced public access to the National Archives collections of non-Departmental material; if she will make regulations to alleviate present restrictions on public access, inspection and copying of non-Departmental archives; if she will enhance publication and rights of public access, inspection and copying of such archives; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39599/21]

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Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

522. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the provisions in place currently to permit public access, inspection, copying and publication of non-Departmental collections and documents and records in the National Archives and related repositories of such collections and documents managed or held by other public service organisations including records of the Irish Land Commission formerly transferred to the Public Records Office under the now-repealed Irish Church Act Amendment Act 1881. [39779/21]

View answer

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

523. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will make regulations to alleviate present restrictions on public access, inspection and copying of non-Departmental archives. [39781/21]

View answer

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

524. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will enhance publication and rights of public access, inspection and copying of non-Departmental archives. [39782/21]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 494, 517, 518, 522, 523 and 524 together.

The statutory functions of the Director of the National Archives primarily relate to “Departmental records” and “archives in the custody of the National Archives”. There are limited “non-Department archives” in the National Archives and as Minister with responsibility for the National Archives, I have no authority over access to and publication of archives not held in the National Archives and not encompassed by the National Archives Act 1986.

The provision of access to specific departmental or non-departmental records can be constrained by various practical factors, such as storage resources in the National Archives and in Government Departments or other transferring bodies as well as competing archival priorities. The physical condition of the records can also be a factor in the degree of accessibility that can be granted, or the time it takes before such records may be made fit for release to the public as per section 10(7) of the National Archives Act, 1986, in terms of preservation and conservation work, cataloguing, listing and digitisation.

The National Archives also has no specific role in relation to records held in other repositories and/or public service organisations, except those that are listed in the Schedule to the National Archives Act 1986, or any organisations whose establishing legislation has brought them under the remit of the National Archives Act.

The Irish Church Act Amendment Act, 1881, dissolved the Church Temporalities Commission and transferred its remaining functions to the Irish Land Commission. The Church Temporalities Commission records are therefore “Departmental records” as the Land Commission is a body listed in the Schedule to the National Archives Act, 1986. Whilst some records of the Church Temporalities Commission have been deposited in the National Archives by the Department of Agriculture, the National Archives currently does not have staff or physical working space to process the records in order to make them available to the public in a safe and secure manner, nor the necessary accessible long term storage space to accommodate the records at this time. The specific reference to the Irish Church Act Amendment Act, 1881 in the main body of the text of the National Archives Act, 1986 is in Section 18:

18.—(1) except as provided by law— (a) a person shall not remove archives from the National Archives; (b) a person shall not remove from the Irish Land Commission records transferred thereto under the Irish Church Act Amendment Act, 1881;

In relation to additional storage requirements of the National Archives, the new Repository building project will convert the warehouse at the main Bishop Street building into a secure environmentally controlled repository complying with internationally accepted storage standards while providing an increase of two-thirds in the total storage capacity of the National Archives. Work has already been competed on the removal of archives from the warehouse of the National Archives as well as investigative works and other preparatory works. The project is being overseen by the Office of Public Works.

In March, I was delighted to give approval to the Office of Public Works (OPW) to progress the project to contract stage. The total cost of the project is estimated by the OPW at circa. €24 million and the OPW envisages a 16 month construction period for this project once they award the contract. Following completion of construction, the installation of the shelving would take up to a further 6 months. As the project has been delayed due to COVID-19, it is estimated that the project will now be completed in 2023.

Finally, the Data Protection Act, 2018 was progressed through the Oireachtas by the Minister of Justice and it is the responsibility of individual Departments and State bodies to ensure they abide by the provisions of that legislation.

School Funding

Questions (495)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

495. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the number of schools that currently benefit from the creative schools programme; the funding allocated to each school under the programme; and the overall costs to the State. [40730/21]

View answer

Written answers

The Creative Youth Plan was published by the government in December 2017 as one of the five pillars of the Creative Ireland Programme. The Plan sets out a number of measures designed to enable the creative potential of every young person, both within the formal education system and in informal or community settings.

As well as specific measures and strategies, the Plan proposes a broader long-term objective – to help promote a society in which knowledge and creativity are equal partners in the formation of our young people and where schools can support creativity and innovation in teaching and learning in an integrated way.

Implementation of the Plan is led by my Department in partnership with the Department of Education, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Arts Council. Significant progress on the delivery of its objectives has been achieved to date. Further details on the range of initiatives and projects which are being supported under the Creative Youth Plan are available from the Creative Ireland Programme website here.

Commenced in September 2018, Creative Schools is one of the key in-school initiatives of the Creative Youth Plan and is managed by the Arts Council. The initiative supports schools to put arts and creativity at the heart of school life, supporting them to develop and implement their own creative plan, while strengthening the relationships between schools and the broader cultural and community infrastructure. It recognises that schools play an important role in providing opportunities for children to participate in arts and culture, and also the important role that such participation can have in the overall development and education of young people.

The initiative provides tangible supports to participating schools. Each school is supported by a Creative Associate, who works closely with the school to examine their current engagement with the arts and creativity, and to assist them in developing a sustainable Creative Schools Plan. In addition, each participating school receives a grant of €2,000 per annum for 2 years. The total budgeted expenditure on the programme for 2021 amounts to €2.9 million.

During the most recent academic year 314 schools right across the country participated in the initiative – including primary and post-primary schools, YouthReach centres, schools in DEIS areas and special schools. Earlier this year, in consultation with my colleague the Minister for Education, I announced an increase in the number of participating schools that would be invited to join the programme this year. In September next a further 190 schools will take part in Creative Schools, this builds upon the increased intake which I provided for in 2020 and will bring to 654 the total number of schools that have been able to start a new creative journey through the programme since its launch in 2018.

Social Media

Questions (496)

Duncan Smith

Question:

496. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her plans to help regulate social media companies to prevent online abuse and to ensure safety of their users; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40813/21]

View answer

Written answers

The Online Safety and Media Regulation (OSMR) Bill will establish a multi-person Media Commission, including an Online Safety Commissioner, dissolve the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, establish regulatory frameworks for online safety and the regulation of audiovisual media services, and transpose the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

It will be the role of the Online Safety Commissioner to oversee the regulatory framework for online safety. As part of the framework, the Commissioner will devise binding online safety codes that will set out how regulated online services, including social media services, are expected to deal with certain defined categories of harmful online content on their platforms. The defined categories of harmful online content include criminal material, serious cyberbullying material and material promoting self-harm, suicide and eating disorders.

In the event of failure to comply with a relevant online safety code, and subject to Court approval, the Media Commission will have the power to sanction non-compliant online services, including through financial sanctions of up to €20m or 10% of turnover.

Detailed legal drafting of the Bill by the Office of the Attorney General is near completion. In addition to this, the Joint Oireachtas Committee has commenced pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Bill, including oral hearings which began on 13 April 2021.

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