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In April 2008, a court approved a settlement of more than EUR 60,000 damages to five Dublin primary school children for breach of privacy. Their images were unlawfully used in the award-winning documentary film “Deliver Us from Evil”, about an American paedophile priest. Their parents had sued the director, the film company and the distribution company, all of California, and the children’s school. The school was granted full indemnity by the US defendants. The film company had contacted the school in 2004 seeking to take footage of the children at play for use in a documentary film about multiculturalism...

The Section 481 tax relief scheme for film and television (section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, as amended, see IRIS 2008-5: 13, IRIS 2004-1: 14 and IRIS 2001-2: 10), has been strengthened by new measures contained in section 28 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008. The maximum that each individual can invest in film production is increased from EUR 31,750 to EUR 50,000. The amount that they can claim against their tax liability is increased from 80% to 100%. According to the Chairman of the Irish Film Board, this means that Ireland will be able to offer a 28% net benefit to attract international...

In December 2008, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) rejected a proposed radio advertisement for Veritas. Veritas is a religious publisher and retailer wholly owned by the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference. The advertisement for products available in Veritas shops and on their website was due to be broadcast over the Christmas period on RTÉ, the national public service broadcaster. The BCI found that the advertisement did not comply with the legislation and regulation regarding advertising directed towards a religious end, specifically section 65 of the Broadcasting Act, 2001 and section...

In December 2008, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs launched a booklet, “Mobile Phones - A Parent’s Guide to Safe and Sensible Use”. The easy reference guide was published by the Irish Cellular Industry Association (ICIA), in association with the mobile operators Meteor, O2, Vodafone and 3 Ireland. The booklet helps parents gain a better understanding of mobile phones, from the basics, such as talk, text and email, to more complex facilities, such as playing music and videos or surfing the web. The primary aim is to inform parents, so as to encourage responsible and secure use of mobile...

Since November 2008, the Joint Oireachtas (Parliament) Committee on the Constitution has been reviewing the referendum process. Its first consideration has been the current arrangements whereby information is imparted to the public during referendum campaigns. To that end, the Committee has sought the views of broadcasters, media regulatory bodies and various others. In its submission, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) said that 20 of the 21 complaints it received in relation to the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty alleged bias in favour of the Yes side. All were considered and all were...