Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 May 2024
114. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to detail Global Ireland Media Challenge Fund reporting or projects to be carried out by news organisations which received grant-aid in the 2024 round of funding. [20101/24]
View answerIn December 2020, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced the establishment of the Global Ireland Media Challenge Fund (GIMCF) on a pilot basis. The Fund aims to support the provision of information about major geo-political developments and the changing nature of Ireland’s role in the world, to the public in Ireland, by helping build the capacity of Irish media outlets to undertake international reporting.
A core principle of the Global Ireland Media Challenge Fund is editorial independence . Accordingly, following the allocation of funding to organisations to support their coverage of international issues, the Department does not direct the organisations in terms of the projects selected, the tone of the coverage, or the allocation of staff to carry out this work.
The organisations that are currently in receipt of funding under the GIMCF are Reach Media, RTÉ, The Business Post, Bauer Media, and The Examiner. The Journal and Virgin Media Television concluded their two year pilot funding at end 2023.
On application, each organisation detailed the activity they proposed to undertake using funding from the GIMCF, which was deemed by the External Expert Advisory Panel, and the DFA Internal Application Review Group, to have met the threshold to be awarded funding under the initiative. Organisations which received grant-aid in the 2024 round of funding are required to engage in a mid-term review process which will take place in July 2024, and submit an end of year report detailing the outputs of their work in December 2024.
