Vol. 739 No. 2
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 7, lines 27 and 28, to delete all words from and including "TO" in line 27 where it firstly occurs down to and including "ELECTION," in line 28 and substitute the following:
"TO REGULATE THE PROVISION OF FREE POSTAGE FOR CERTAIN CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION,".
This is a drafting amendment to the Long Title of the Bill. It has been recommended by the Parliamentary Counsel. It does not reflect any change in policy in the Bill.
Amendments Nos. 2, 3 and 35 to 40, inclusive, are being taken together. Is that agreed? Agreed.
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 7, line 40, after "INSTRUMENTS," to insert "TO AMEND THE BROADCASTING ACT 2009".
Amendments Nos. 2 and 3 are consequential amendments to the Long Title and to section 1 of the Bill. They arise from the inclusion in the Bill of a number of amendments to the Broadcasting Act 2009. Amendment No. 35 is of a technical nature. Its purpose is to define the term "Act of 2009" as meaning the Broadcasting Act 2009 wherever it appears throughout Part 4 of the Bill. The purpose of amendment No. 36 is to bring consistency to the provisions of sections 118(9) and 123(4) of the Broadcasting Act 2009. In essence, it seeks to ensure the obligations imposed on TG4 under section 118(9) of the 2009 Act, in regard to the uses to which it can put moneys granted to it from the Exchequer, are consistent with the wording used in 123(4) of the same Act, which provides for the payment of such moneys to TG4.
Amendment No. 37 is the principal amendment. It provides a legislative means for the payment to TG4 of moneys derived from television licence fee receipts. It seeks to amend the Broadcasting Act 2009 by inserting a reference to TG4 in section 123(1). This provision currently allows for the net licence fee receipts — the gross receipts, less any amount paid to An Post as the collection agent and the 7% paid to the broadcasting fund — to be paid to RTE only. In addition, amendment No. 37 sets out the mechanism to be used by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, in consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in determining the precise portion of the total net licence fee receipts to be paid to each of the two public service broadcasters, RTE and TG4. I should point out that the Minister's discretion in making this determination is subject to the need to have regard to the ability of RTE and TG4 to meet their public service objects, as set out in sections 114 and 118, respectively, of the Broadcasting Act 2009. Amendment No. 37 also seeks to ensure that the moneys provided to TG4 from television licence fee receipts are not used by TG4 other than to pursue its public service objectives and to pay the amounts levied on it by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland under section 33 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. This obligation is the same as that already imposed on RTE under section 123 of the 2009 Act. It ensures conformity with the state aid rules of the EU. It echoes the obligation imposed on TG4 in an earlier amendment to section 118(9) of the 2009 Act, which related to moneys paid to TG4 from the Exchequer rather than from television licence fee receipts, as is the case in this instance.
Amendment No. 38 is a consequential amendment to section 125 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 as a result of the principal amendment to section 123 allowing television licence fee moneys to be paid to TG4. Section 125 of the 2009 Act deals with the role of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland in making recommendations to the Minister about the adequacy of public funding for the two public service broadcasters, RTE and TG4. These recommendations are made on the basis of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland's annual review of the performance of the two broadcasters. This amendment seeks to ensure that in making a recommendation about the amount of any payment to be made to TG4, the authority can refer to both streams of funding for TG4, from the Exchequer and from television licence fee receipts.
Amendment No. 39 seeks to deal with the decision taken by the previous Government in the 2011 budget to cap at 2010 levels the contribution to be made by the Department of Social Protection in respect of the distribution by that Department of free television licences under the household benefits package. Prior to that budget decision, the Department of Social Protection was required to pay the full cost of a television licence for each free licence issued by that Department under the household benefits package. As a result of the 2011 budget decision, however, the amount paid by the Department in regard to each licence issued can differ from the actual full cost of a licence. This amendment seeks to provide a mechanism whereby the amount to be paid by the Department in respect of the issuing of free licences is determined by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, in consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. As with the previous amendment, the Minister's discretion in making this determination is subject to the need to have regard to the ability of RTE and TG4 to meet their public service objectives, as set out in sections 114 and 118, respectively.
The final part of amendment No. 39 is being introduced for purely practical and administrative purposes. It simply seeks to provide that the Department of Social Protection will maintain records and will be able to provide the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with the relevant information on the issuing of free television licences as and when it is required.
Amendment No. 40 seeks to provide for an amendment of section 154 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 which deals with the broadcasting funding scheme. The scheme is designed to provide funding to independent television and radio programme makers for the making of a range of programme types as specified in the Act. In addition, the scheme is designed to enable the funding of archiving activities by private and public broadcasters alike. The current wording of section 154(1)(e) was found to be incompatible with EU state aid rules. It needs to be amended to secure the necessary European Commission approval for the funding of the archive scheme. Subject to the approval by the House of this amendment, the scheme can be put in place by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and archiving of programmes that broadcasters have developed in anticipation of this scheme can then be initiated.
There are many amendments in this group. We are approaching the 7 o'clock bell. In general, I welcome these proposals. However, I join Deputy Ferris in criticising on a number of grounds the means by which this is being done. I object to major broadcasting legislation being stuck in as an addendum to a postal communications Bill. I was never happy when we did it in government because it is bad practice.
The second issue is that it is becoming all too common here in the House that major changes are being made to Bills on Report Stage. It is not as if this is something urgent that came to light at the last moment. This was decided on 8 December last, it was well flagged and there was plenty of time to get these sections ready to put into the Bill when the Dáil convened after the election and when we started this session and started this Bill.
