Public funds for commercial broadcasters in limbo over EU state aid concerns
Some €6m was set aside in Budget 2025 to be shared between Virgin Media Television and commercial radio stations
Patrick O’Donovan
Politician
Where will vital student housing come from?
Like Ireland’s wider housing crisis, there are too few student beds available with little sign of a solution
Former Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly: ‘The Minister saw the opportunity for a scalp. I was an easy target’
The botched IT project abandoned at a loss of €5.3m effectively cost Maureen Kennelly her job. She believes the Government has unfairly discredited her reputation
O’Donovan has ‘no notion’ of abolishing TV licence fee or replacing it with tax on tech companies
Numbers paying licence fee dropped from 950,000 in 2022 to 790,000 in 2024, Dáil hears
Rathmines locals protest over An Post move to sell ‘cultural icon’ later this year
Crowd gathered outside Rathmines post office to protest against its relocation and planned sale
Arts Council was stopped three times from spending money on outside partners after botched IT project
Chair also declared conflict of interest over grant to publisher of husband’s work
Minister admonished for bringing ‘substantial’ issues to Cabinet without telling colleagues
Failed Arts Council IT project one of two issues brought to Cabinet ‘under the arm’, senior official said
Pilot scheme that pays artists €325 ‘basic income’ a week gets six-month extension
Plan for research-based scheme to be introduced as part of Budget 2026
Numbers prosecuted for not having TV licence down despite wave of evasion set off by RTÉ scandal
Drop in television licence sales continues this year
Potential new names for the Department of Arts: Smacc, Cacs, Scam and – my favourite – DoSac
Rebrand to the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport is an artless move that speaks volumes
Arts Council ‘deeply regrets’ Minister’s decision on director’s contract
Minister decides against appointing Maureen Kennelly for further five years
ComReg plans overhaul of SMS text message system to help block scammers
Public and businesses lose more than €100m year to criminals who send bogus messages
Minister did not consent to second term for Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly, PAC told
Department of Arts ‘should have called it out earlier’, Public Accounts Committee told over Arts Council’s €6.7m botched IT system
RTÉ appearance at Oireachtas committee a drab sequel to firework show of two years ago starring Ryan Tubridy
Ghost of man long gone from station lingers as management faces questions from TDs, senators about fresh controversies
Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly to stand down in wake of botched IT contract
Council is due to appear before Public Accounts Committee on Thursday concerning failed €6.7m project
The Irish Times view on basic income for artists: keep it going
precarity and low incomes are a reality of life for many professional artists
Minister set to push for extension of artists’ income scheme
About 2,000 artists have been allocated €325 a week in pilot funding since 2022
Dismay among RTÉ staffers as broadcaster hires actors to play journalists in ‘make-believe’ ad campaign
For God’s sake don’t tell Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan about this
Cork town to be first fully connected to fast broadband
Work connecting Carrigtwohill set to be completed this summer
President Higgins says people in Gaza are being subjected to ‘forced starvation’
The National Famine Commemoration took place in Co Limerick on Saturday
Netflix levy: Amazon warned Government that Trump administration could consider charge as a ‘further tax’ on US firms
Expert advice commissioned by Coimisiún na Meán argued in favour of introducing such a levy on a sliding scale
‘Netflix levy’: Government decided not to go ahead with content charge despite expert advice
Government was urged to introduce content levy at ‘earliest possible date’ to fund domestic film and TV production
Patrick O’Donovan’s overstatements damage credibility of the International Sports Diplomacy Framework
Document is filled with ideas and goals that are impossible to disagree with but hard to measure
Plan under way to protect telecoms network from extreme weather
Service providers may have to submit annual reports on implementation of measures
Plans for counselling notes to be disclosed in sexual assault trials only if court decides they are relevant
Proposals stop short of ending access to counselling notes, something campaigners had sought
Trump film tariffs could hit thousands of jobs in Ireland, industry figures warn
Any additional tariffs ‘unhelpful’, Simon Harris’s office says
RTÉ confirms €3.6m write down on partly abandoned IT project
Broadcaster says problem with project to revamp finance and HR systems ‘an outlier’ in context of operations
The Irish Times view on RTÉ's job cuts: tough challenges ahead
The core principle of an arm’s length relationship between the public service broadcaster and the government of the day must be maintained
Online safety commissioner ‘deeply concerned’ at rise of AI-generated child sex-abuse images
Coimisiún na Meán is engaging regularly with online platforms over such material
RTÉ’s €62m redundancy plan subject to annual targets
Government has approved €15m for this year to finance voluntary redundancy programme, which is now open
Approval of RTÉ redundancy offer still leaves station facing bigger challenges
RTÉ faces issues of ageing audience for its linear video and audio services, and mass defection to streaming and social-media platforms by younger viewers
Clash on hotel tax between Fine Gael Ministers and Dublin TDs and councillors
A number of politicians in the capital have gone public on their support for a hotel bed levy despite the strong opposition of two senior Fine Gael Ministers
City taxes for tourists ‘last thing we need to be doing’, says O’Donovan
Visitors will stay in Wicklow and Kildare and travel in if a Dublin tax is introduced, says Minister
Netflix levy: A boost for homegrown television or a blow to consumers?
We already have a TV licence fee, says Conor Pope, the Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent. But with a well-designed levy, the consumer wouldn’t pay, argues independent producer Larry Bass
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