New law requires State bodies to publish media advertising costs

Under the bill, public authorities or entities will be obliged to publish information on the total amount spent on advertising and the amount spent with individual media providers

Media minister Patrick O'Donovan: 'Ireland’s media mergers regime is an essential element of the protections we have in place for media plurality and diversity.' File picture: Liam McBurney/PA

A new law which will require State bodies to publish how much they have spent on advertising with individual media organisations has been published by the Government.

Media minister Patrick O’Donovan has received government approval to publish the Media Regulation Bill, which will implement the main provisions of the European Media Freedom Act in Ireland. 

The European Media Freedom Act is an EU regulation which came into force last August.

Under the new bill, public authorities or entities will be obliged to publish information on the total amount spent on advertising and the amount spent with individual media providers. There are no such rules in Ireland at present.

Under the European Media Freedom Act, authorities are prohibited from pressing journalists and editors to disclose their sources — including by detaining them, sanctions, office searches, or by installing intrusive surveillance software on their electronic devices. 

'Free flow of information'

A government statement said these requirements were being dealt with by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs, and Migrations under a number of legislative reforms including the Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill and the Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill.

Mr O’Donovan said the bill is important and "enables the free flow of information and debate which is essential for a healthy democracy".

“Ireland’s media mergers regime is an essential element of the protections we have in place for media plurality and diversity. The bill will modernise the framework for assessment of media mergers, taking into account the digital transformation of the sector," he added.

The bill will transfer responsibility for the assessment of media mergers from the minister to the independent media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán. 

It will broaden the scope of media mergers to be assessed to include transactions involving online platforms. Under the European regulations, all news and current affairs outlets — regardless of their size — will have to publish information about their owners in a national database.