From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, today (Wednesday 18 January) announced that Government has approved an Implementation Strategy and Action Plan to provide for the implementation of the recommendations made by the Future of Media Commission Report.
Speaking today, Minister Martin said:
"This plan sets out how Government intends to give effect to the accepted recommendations within the Commission’s report, and is a blueprint for enabling the continued development of public service media in Ireland in light of the transformation which the sector has been undergoing. A key element of the ongoing implementation will be stakeholder engagement, and my officials will shortly be inviting a range of stakeholders to participate in the process."
The Technical Group set up to examine reform of the Television Licence Fee will report to the Minister in Q1 this year.
The delivery of the Strategy will include the development of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion standards by Coimisiún na Meán, a comprehensive review of Irish language services across the entire media sector and the introduction of a range of new funding supports through a new Media Fund, with priority being given by Minister Martin to Local Democracy Reporting and Courts Reporting schemes.
Minister Martin added:
"It is vital that our media services reflect the diversity of audiences they seek to serve. Coimisiún na Meán will engage with broadcasters and content providers to ensure all strands of Irish society have a voice and that there is a pathway to their inclusion in public service media."
Following its consideration of the report of the Future of Media Commission in July of this year, Government accepted, in principle, 49 out of the 50 recommendations made.
An Implementation Group, chaired by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sport and Media was established, and also comprising representatives of the Departments of the Taoiseach; Finance; Public Expenditure and Reform; Justice; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
The Group is tasked with:
Following consideration of each proposal, the Group developed the Implementation Strategy and Action Plan which has now been approved by Cabinet.
The Commission’s recommendations set out a strategic agenda for transforming Ireland’s media sector, to ensure that Ireland continues to have a pluralistic, independent media that provides high-quality public service content, essential to social cohesion and a healthy democracy. The Action Plan sets out a range of measures designed to enable the delivery of this objective:
A separate Technical Working Group was also established by Government to examine options for the reform and enhancement of the TV licence fee model, and will report to Minister Martin in Q1 this year.