Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 January 2022
97. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the new watchdog Coimisiún na Meán will be established and begin its necessary work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2437/22]
View answer198. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the status of preparing the regulatory capacity, structures and expertise of the media commission ahead of its planned establishment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2506/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 97 and 198 together.
The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill will, when enacted, formally dissolve the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and establish a new regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, which will be responsible for overseeing the regulation of broadcasting and video on-demand services and the new regulatory framework for online safety set out in the Bill.
All provisions of the Bill are subject to a commencement order. Accordingly, Coimisiún na Meán will be formally established after the enactment and Bill and the making of a Ministerial commencement order.
It is essential from both an operational and reputational standpoint that Coimisiún na Meán has sufficient staff with experience and skills at the appropriate level in order to effectively carry out its regulatory functions. Given the importance of Coimisiún na Meán, Government has approved its establishment on an administrative basis prior to the enactment of the Bill. Work is underway between my officials and officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Public Appointments Service to start recruitment of key staff of the Commission, including an Online Safety Commissioner, through open public competitions.
While Coimisiún na Meán will ultimately be funded through levies on regulated services, I secured €5.5 million in Budget 2022 in start-up funding for to support the administrative establishment of An Coimisiún and enable it to hit the ground running as soon as it is formally established.
