Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media to discuss Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020 with stakeholders

The meeting at 12.30pm in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be hear from representatives of Screen Producers Ireland and the Joint Creative Audiovisual Sectoral Group.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Niamh Smyth said: “Ireland’s audiovisual production sector supports thousands of jobs and generates hundreds of millions of euro for the Irish economy, and has a global reputation for its talent, creativity and production skills. A key part of this Bill is that it transposes into national law the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which allows for the introduction of a levy on pay TV services and subscription-based streaming services to fund independent film and television productions. The Committee looks forward to hearing from our witnesses their views on this levy and other elements of the Bill which affect their sector.”

The General Scheme of the Bill was published in December 2020 by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and consists of three general themes:

·         Parts 2 and 3: The establishment of the Media Commission and dissolution of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland;

·         Part 4: Online Safety; and

·         Parts 5 and 6: On-Demand Audiovisual Services and miscellaneous provisions regarding the transposition of the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

The Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.