The proposed new Media Commission, which will take on responsibilities now held by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, is expected to have as many staff as the office of the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC).

This would be in line with Fórsa’s position, which was set out in the union’s March 2021 submission to the Oireachtas committee that’s scrutinising legislation establishing the new body.

A senior departmental official told the committee last week that it was drawing up a business case for the new entity, and envisaged it would grow quickly to approximately the size of the DPC. That would mean around 180 staff, including those already working for the BAI.

Fórsa’s submission to the committee said staffing would need to be adequate to the task of effectively regulating social and other media. It said BAI staffing levels had been inadequate since the agency was established on the eve of the last financial crisis.

BAI management sought additional staff resources in 2009 but, in the context of widespread cuts in public service jobs, these were never provided.

The Fórsa submission says this must change if the Media Commission is to be an effective regulator. “The staffing complement of the Data Protection Commission has increased significantly in recent years to reflect the new regulatory responsibilities flowing from the introduction of the GDPR requirements.

“A similar transformation in media regulation is now underway. The breadth and scope of responsibilities that will fall on the Media Commission will be significant, and staffing in the new organisation will need to be comparable, if not greater, than is currently the case for the Data Protection Commission,” it said.

The commission is being established under the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill, which heralds new regulation of a range of media, including video sharing platforms. It also introduces a regime to tackle a range of online harms across social media services.

“The need for such regulation has been raised in a variety of contexts over the years, by civil society organisations and by many representatives in both Houses of the Oireachtas. Fórsa welcomes the fact that plans in this regard are now bring progressed,” according to the union’s submission.

It also pointed out that Ireland will come under increasing EU pressure to transpose the Audio-visual Media Services Directive.

“In this context, it will be essential that work on the operational structure and arrangements for the proposed Media Commission progresses in parallel with discussions on the Bill. This will enable Ireland to meet its obligations under the directive at the earliest possible point,” it says.