Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 May 2023
367. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the funding spent on Sound and Vision funding through the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland in every year since the funding was established; and a breakdown by current and capital spending. [24581/23]
View answerThe Broadcasting Act 2009 made provision for the establishment of the Broadcasting Fund, to be managed and controlled by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, now Coimisiún na Meán, and funded primarily from 7% of net TV licence fee receipts.
The Act also provided for the establishment of schemes, the objectives of which include the development programmes based on Irish culture, heritage and experience, programmes in the Irish language, programmes which represent the diversity of Irish culture and heritage, or to support an integrated approach to the archiving of programme material within the broadcasting sector.
At present the Fund supports two schemes, the Sound and Vision Scheme and the Archiving Scheme. Sound and Vision enables increased availability of high quality television and radio programmes for Irish audiences, while the Archiving Scheme supports the development of an archiving culture and contributes to the preservation of Ireland’s broadcasting heritage.
The Broadcasting Act 2009, also provides that the Minister may allocate additional Exchequer funding to the Fund. 2020 was the first year that additional Exchequer funding was allocated, which I provided in recognition of the impact of COVID-19 on the sector. Since then increased Exchequer investment has enabled funding rounds targeted at programmes on Climate Change and Climate Action, Irish language programmes, the live music sector, and dedicated funding for the independent radio sector.
Since 2010, approximately €211m has been allocated by the Broadcasting Funding Scheme. 96% of funds have supported Sound and Vision, with the balances administered through the Archiving Scheme. The table below details both TV licence receipts and exchequer funding paid to the Fund since 2010.
|
Year |
TV Licence Fee Receipts |
Exchequer Funding |
|
2010 |
€14.7m |
|
|
2011 |
€14.9m |
|
|
2012 |
€14.2m |
|
|
2013 |
€14.3m |
|
|
2014 |
€14.1m |
|
|
2015 |
€14.6m |
|
|
2016 |
€13.7m |
|
|
2017 |
€14.3m |
|
|
2018 |
€14.5m |
|
|
2019 |
€14.8m |
|
|
2020 |
€14.9m |
€6.9m |
|
2021 |
€14.8m |
€8.0m |
|
2022 |
€14.8m |
€7.5m |
|
Total |
€188.6m |
€22.4m |
It should be noted that due to the timing of individual funding rounds, and the staging of payments to successful applicants under either Scheme, there will be differences in the funding allocated to the Broadcasting Fund and the amount that is dispersed to grantees in any given year.
