The provision of quality public service content is not just the preserve of public service media bodies. Independent broadcasters, including local and community radio, play a vital role in providing valuable public service content to the Irish public. This contributes to a plurality of voices in the media sector and is crucial to the continued provision of free, independent, high-quality journalism and trustworthy news and current affairs coverage to the public. The Programme for Government acknowledges that local and national independent media perform a vital public service and deserve to have this recognised.
In line with this, €6m was secured in Budget 2025 to support news and current affairs reporting by commercial independent broadcasters. This is aligned with the Programme for Government commitment to support the provision of objective news and current affairs content. As independent regulator for broadcasters, Coimisiún na Meán will lead the design and administration of the supports for news and current affairs on independent broadcasting services.
This is in addition to supports already provided the commercial radio sector through the Sound and Vision Scheme operated by Coimisiún na Meán, which saw €22.7m allocated to support 210 television and radio projects in 2024.
It should be noted that the community media sector receives significant support through the Sound and Vision Scheme, which provides dedicated funding rounds for the sector. A major innovation in the current scheme has been the establishment of Social Benefit rounds specifically for community broadcasters. In addition, community broadcasters can apply for funding under general rounds of the Scheme. In 2024 alone, over €1m of funding was allocated to community media projects through the Sound and Vision Scheme.
The Future of Media Commission, in examining the challenges faced by the media sector, recommended the establishment of a new Media Fund to provide support for the provision of public service content by the wider media sector at local, regional and national levels on a platform neutral basis. This was in order to address the long-term economic challenges faced by media in Ireland, which includes a decisive shift in advertising revenues away from traditional media towards the technology giants, compounded in the case of print media by declining circulation revenues.
In line with the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission, the General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill contains measures to convert the statutory Broadcasting Fund to a platform-neutral Media Fund. This will fund all schemes prepared by Coimisiún na Meán to support the production, distribution and archiving of public service content by the wider media sector which will be made available free of charge to the general public.
In advance of the establishment of a statutory Media Fund, the Local Democracy and Courts Reporting Schemes were rolled out on an administrative basis in 2024 with awards announced by Coimisiún na Meán earlier this month. These Schemes aim to support under-served public-interest journalism, particularly in terms of reporting on local authority meetings and local and regional courts.
In line with the relevant Programme for Government commitments, Coimisiún na Meán will continue to monitor the impact of the aforementioned schemes, and update them as appropriate, in order to ensure they are accessible to the wider media sector and continue to deliver on intended objectives. €10m was secured in Budget 2025 to ensure the continuation of the Local Democracy and Courts Reporting Schemes and to introduce two new Schemes in 2025, the Digital Transformation and the News Reporting Schemes. As these schemes are being administered on a platform neutral basis, local and community radio will be eligible to apply for support from all of the aforementioned schemes in 2025.
