Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023
298. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to confirm that relevant qualifying media organisations will be in a position to draw down funding from the recently announced local democracy reporting scheme and the court reporting scheme before the local and European Parliament elections in June 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55898/23]
View answer299. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if schemes (details supplied) will be in place prior to the referendum scheduled for 8 March 2024 and prior to the local and European elections in June 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55909/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 298 and 299 together.
The independent radio sector plays an essential role in sharing reliable and relevant news and bringing communities together. The wider media sector in Ireland, which is a vital element of our democracy and society as a whole, is undergoing fundamental change. This is in part due to the increased digitalisation of news and media content generally and the associated decline in advertising revenue as a consequence.
The Report of the Future of Media Commission examined the challenges faced by the media sector, including the radio sector, and consequent impact on the provision of public service content. The Report made a number of recommendations to counter these challenges and to support the provision of public service content.
One recommendation made by the Future of Media Commission was the establishment of a new Media Fund to provide support for the provision of public service content by the wider media and journalism sector at local, regional and national levels on a platform neutral basis. The Media Fund is being established on an administrative basis, with the Local Democracy and Courts Reporting Schemes being prioritised for implementation by Coimisiún na Meán, with €6m allocated in Budget 2024 for this purpose.
My officials have consulted extensively with members of the Future of Media Commission Stakeholder Consultative Forum, which includes representatives from the independent radio sector, throughout the year as part of the high level policy development process for the schemes. My officials will continue to engage with these members and indeed with all stakeholders to keep them informed of developments on this matter.
It is considered that the draft Schemes may constitute State Aid to economic operators in the news and current affairs market. Accordingly, the schemes may require a full State Aid notification to, and the approval of, the European Commission. The pre-notification form for the media fund schemes was received by the European Commission on 6th September 2023 and a response from the European Commission is awaited. Once the pre-notification process is complete, a formal State Aid notification, if required, will be submitted to the European Commission. Following State aid approval, Coimisiún na Meán will be in a position to implement the schemes.
In the meantime, the detailed design of the schemes based on the high level policy principles developed by my Department is currently being undertaken by Coimisiún na Meán. It is expected that Coimisiún na Meán will progress further stakeholder consultation on the detailed design of the schemes in early 2024. Subject to State Aid approval, it is expected that the schemes will commence in 2024 but it is not possible to provide a precise timeline as this depends on the timing and nature of the response of the European Commission.
It should be noted that the purpose and delivery of the Schemes is not directly linked to the local and European elections or any upcoming referendum. The overall purpose of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme is to support local democracy reporting on a general basis through the provision of comprehensive coverage of the proceedings of local authorities and associated committees.
In addition, it is intended that local democracy reporters will carry out other tasks outside of providing reports of meetings, including reporting on the functions and activities of local authorities, reviewing publications and records to identify stories of public interest and to report on other matters relevant to local democracy which are in the public interest. While the role of a local democracy reporter could include the provision of coverage relating to elections, this is not the core purpose of the scheme.
Existing supports for the radio sector have been provided through the Sound and Vision Scheme which is administered by Coimisiún na Meán. Under the current legislation and general exemption for the Scheme from State Aid rules by the European Commission, news and current affairs programming cannot currently be supported through Sound and Vision. However, the Future of Media Commission recommended that this be reviewed, and this will be done next year.
In the meantime, this year I provided additional Exchequer funding for a special radio sector round of Sound and Vision which provided €2.4m in supports. The radio sector also received significant funding from other Sound and Vision rounds announced this year. 35 projects received a total of €543,000 from announcements made in August, while another 67 radio projects received €636,000 from Round 47 which was announced last April. The next round of funding is currently open for applicants and will again provide further supports to the radio sector in creating quality content for Irish audiences right throughout the country.
