Search results : 306

The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has introduced new regulations on taste and decency. These are contained in the Code of Programme Standards. The code came into effect on 10April 2007. The objectives of the code are to promote responsible broadcasting and reduce harm or offence to the audience. The code provides guidelines to the broadcaster and protects the viewer/listener by informing them of choices and standards to expect. While restrictions already existed in the area, this is the first attempt to create regulatory guidelines, which apply to all Irish broadcasters, both public...

The issue of political advertising on radio and television arose again in 2007. The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) instructed commercial stations to cease broadcasting an advertisement for Trócaire, the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland, on the grounds that it contravened Section 10(3) of The Radio and Television Act 1988, which prohibits advertising “directed towards a religious or political end” (seeIRIS 2004-8: 11, IRIS 2003-2: 11, IRIS 2001-7: 9 and IRIS 2004-3: 10). The core issue was a reference in the advertisement to an online petition that...

In his budget speech on 5 December 2007, the Minister for Finance announced the retention of film tax reliefs until 2012. The current tax incentive scheme for film and television made in Ireland, which is set out in Section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (as amended), allows businesses and individuals to offset their investment in film against tax (see IRIS 2001-2: 10 and IRIS 2004-1: 14). The scheme was due to expire in December 2008, so its retention until 2012 is welcomed by the film industry. The Irish Film Board published a rough guide to the scheme in February 2007. The scheme applies...

The Commission has closed its investigation into the financing of the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep (Flemish Radio and Television Broadcasting – VRT). After complaints from several private competitors were received in 2004, a preliminary investigation on behalf of the Commission had found the VRT financing regime to be in breach of EC Treaty state aid rules. These rules declare subsidies liable to distort competition to be incompatible with the common market (Article 87). The VRT’s funding measures pre-existed the entry into force of the EC Treaty and, therefore, amounted to “existing aid”...

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers’ (CM) latest batch of country-specific Resolutions adopted in the context of the Second Monitoring Cycle of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) concern: the Russian Federation; Romania; Ireland and Norway. The Resolutions contain a number of provisions concerning the (audiovisual) media (for similar provisions in earlier country-specific Resolutions, see IRIS 2007-3: 6 and IRIS 2006-2: 4). The CM recommends that the Russian authorities “further improve access to the media of persons belonging to national minorities”...