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On 9 April 2013, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) published a new Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs as part of its statutory remit. In accordance with the Broadcasting Act 2009 (see IRIS 2009-10/18), broadcasters are required to ensure that all news and current affairs content is reported in an objective and impartial manner without any expression of the broadcaster’s own views. The Act also stipulates that broadcasters must ensure that their treatment of current affairs, including matters that are either of public controversy or the subject of...

On 26 February 2013 the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources confirmed that plans are being advanced to introduce a household-based public broadcasting charge. The new charge will replace the existing television licence fee, a device-based charge, legislated for under sections 140 to 148 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. The television licence revenue is currently used to fund public service broadcasting on RTE, TG4, and separately through independent broadcast productions, by way of the Sound and Vision Scheme, which is administered by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. A...

At their January 2013 meeting, the Compliance Committee of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) upheld a series of complaints made by viewers of Tonight with Vincent Browne, broadcast by TV3. The complaints were made in accordance with section 48 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 and, those complaints upheld claimed that the broadcast breached the requirement for fair, objective and impartial treatment of current affairs. The complaints relate to a current affairs programme that focused upon the forthcoming US Presidential election and was broadcast on 23 October 2012. The statements cited by...

On 19 February 2013, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published its latest reports on Ireland and Liechtenstein, adopted in the fourth monitoring cycle of the laws, policies and practices to combat racism in the member states of the Council of Europe (commentary on previous reports see IRIS 2003-5/3, IRIS 2005-7/2 and IRIS 2007-8/102). Only the report on Ireland contains a section focusing specifically on the media/Internet. In its fourth report, ECRI welcomes the positive developments in Ireland, including the establishment of the Office of the Press Ombudsman and...

On 6 December 2012 four music companies (EMI, Sony, Warner and Universal) launched a fresh legal bid aimed at blocking access on the part of Irish Internet users to the file-sharing website The Pirate Bay. This is the first legal action taken under the controversial copyright injunction law that was introduced in February 2012 (see IRIS 2012-4/31). The European Union (Copyright and Related Rights) Regulations 2012 permit the owner of the copyright or a related right in a work to apply to the High Court for an injunction against an intermediary whose services are used by a third party to infringe...