No levy to be introduced without Minister O’Donovan’s agreement

Government approve Revised General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill

Minister O’Donovan announces Government approval of the Revised General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill

• No introduction of a content production levy without Ministerial consent
• RTÉ to spend 25% of public funding by law on independent productions
• Regulation of RTÉ and TG4 to extend beyond radio and TV content to podcasts and webpages
• Direct funding under the Media Fund solely for independent producers and commercial media outlets
• Greater transparency in funding of contractors

Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD has today announced Government approval of the revised General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill that will enhance value-for-money, accountability and transparency in RTÉ and TG4, and provide for greater levels of funding for independent producers.

While retaining the totality of the initial General Scheme approved and published on 8 October 2024, the Minister has amended the General Scheme to:

• ensure that the imposition of a content production levy which could impose costs on Irish consumers are subject to Ministerial decision;
• further increase the accountability of RTÉ and TG4 for their performance and the content they publish and enhance their transparency; and
• ensure that public funding is provided to RTÉ and TG4 for the purposes solely of meeting their statutory public service objects and, in that context, support the development of the wider audiovisual and audio production sector.

On further examination of the General Scheme Minister O’Donovan has obtained Government approval for six key amendments:

• Ensure that the imposition of a content production levy which could impose costs on Irish consumers is subject to Ministerial decision
• RTÉ to be required by law to spend at least 25% of its public funding on content commissioned from the independent production sector and allow Coimisiún na Meán to increase this percentage, with Ministerial agreement, in the context of the 3-year reviews of the adequacy of public funding
• Extend media codes, duties and rules to all content published by RTÉ and TG4
• Tighter controls of RTÉ and TG4’s Annual Performance Commitments by Coimisiún na Meán, starting in 2026.
• Provide for the anonymised disclosure by RTÉ and TG4 of employee benefits and contractors’ remuneration
• Exclude RTÉ and TG4 from applying for direct public funding under the Media Fund given that they are already in receipt of public funding to fulfil their statutory public service objects

Welcoming the approval of the amendments, Minister O’Donovan said:

Link to revised General Scheme.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

On 8 October 2024 the Government published the General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill and it was referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee (JOC) on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media for pre-legislative scrutiny. The 33rd Dáil was dissolved before the Committee could hold its first public session and therefore the General Scheme will be resubmitted to the new Oireachtas Committee responsible for media policy once formed.

The General Scheme is informed by the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission which was published in July 2022. Government accepted, in principle, 49 of the recommendations, and actions that would be taken to implement the recommendations. They were set out in January 2023 in the Implementation Strategy. The General Scheme provides a legislative underpinning for Recommendations 6 – 1 to 6 – 7 and 8 – 5 on the conversion of the existing Broadcasting Fund to a platform-neutral Media Fund; and Recommendations 5 – 1, 5 – 3, 8 – 2, and 8 – 3 as they relate to a more effective system to assess the performance and funding of public service media.

The General Scheme was further informed by the report of the Independent Review of the Governance and Culture of RTÉ. Government accepted, in principle, all of the report’s recommendations and the Implementation Plan set out how to give effect to these recommendations. The General Scheme addresses Recommendations 6.31 and 6.37 on the assignment of the Comptroller and Auditor General as auditor of RTÉ, and Recommendations 4.1, 5.1, 5.15, and 5.19 as they apply to the Board, Board Committees and Directors General of RTÉ and TG4.

Further information regarding the provisions of the General Scheme are provided in the Press Release of 08 October 2024. In addition to describing the role of recommendation of the Future of Media Commission and the Independent Review, the Press Release sets out how the General Scheme will reform corporate governance of RTÉ and TG4, provide an enhanced framework for assessing the performance and funding of RTÉ and TG4, and provide a new framework for public service content provision.

The outcomes that will result from the amendments to the General Scheme can be grouped in three categories: to further increase the accountability and transparency of RTÉ and TG4 with regard to the content they publish and their performance; to support the development of the wider audiovisual and audio production sector; and to ensure that the imposition of levies which could impose costs on Irish consumers are subject to Ministerial decision.

Further increase accountability and transparency of RTÉ and TG4

• Podcasts and web pages published by RTE and TG4 will be regulated in the same way as broadcast content
• Coimisiún na Meán may create specific ‘public service media content codes’ to regulate this type of content
• Complaints handling and retention periods will apply to all RTÉ and TG4 content, not just broadcast content
• RTÉ and TG4 will be required to submit their performance commitments to Coimisiún na Meán in draft form for the years 2026 and 2027 and they will be required to take account of any findings from Coimisiún na Meán
• RTÉ and TG4 will publish an anonymized list of employee benefits and contractor remuneration, in bands which will be set to align with existing public policy, €0 - €60,000 and in intervals €10,000 thereafter.

Supporting the development of the wider audiovisual and audio production sector

• RTÉ to be required to spend at least 25% of its public funding on content commissioned from the independent production sector
• Coimisiún na Meán may provide for a higher figure than 25%, following an analysis made in the context of its 3-year review
• RTÉ and TG4 to be excluded from receiving direct public funding from the Media Fund, ensuring that all funds go to independent producers and commercial media outlets, but still allowing for independent producers to use RTE and TG4 as broadcast partners to maximize impact
• Provide for greater transparency in RTÉ’s annual report on independent production account, including remuneration.

Ensuring that the imposition of levies which could impose costs on Irish consumers are subject to Ministerial decision

• The Minister in consultation with the Minister of Finance must approve any recommendation by Coimisiún na Meán to impose a content production levy on broadcasting providers and VOD providers (e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime)
• The Minister has no intention of directing or allowing the imposition of a content production levy until such a time as he is satisfied that such a levy will not impose an undue burden on Irish consumers of audiovisual media services. Based on a recent report shared by Coimisiún na Meán, the Minister considers that there is a risk that a levy could lead to higher costs for Irish consumers at this time.