Vol. 534 No. 2
117 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands her views on a study at the University of Hertfordshire regarding the effects of commercial television on young children (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10316/01]
118 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the discussions she has had with other EU Ministers regarding television advertising targeted at children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10317/01]
I propose to take Question Nos. 117 and 118 together.
I refer the Deputy to my reply to Questions Nos. 15 and 23 of 21 February 2001 relating to relevant provisions of the Broadcasting Bill, 1999, which have now been signed into law. I have not had any specific discussions on advertising directed at children with other EU Ministers. However, the protection of minors from harmful audiovisual content has been a theme in EU fora for quite some time.
We can all accept that the study in the newspaper article referred to by the Deputy deals with an important area. This is the reason why I promoted the amendment to the Broadcasting Bill, 1999, that resulted in the provision in the Broadcasting Act, 2001, that enables me to, by direction, require the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, as its first priority, to make codes relating to advertising directed at children.
