IrelandAccess Rules for Television Broadcasting Services (Coimisiún na Meán media service rules), subtitling, Irish Sign Language and audio description targets
Access Rules for Television Broadcasting Services Coimisiún na Meán, November 2024, made under the Broadcasting Act 2009, s. 46O, Rules 7, 12 and 13
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
What it requires
- If you are a television broadcaster under the jurisdiction of the State, meet the subtitling, Irish Sign Language and audio description targets the Rules set for each of your services as a percentage of output for 2025, 2026 and 2027 (Rules 12.2, 12.5, 12.6, 12.8, 12.11 and 12.13).
- Comply, so far as practicable, with the quality standards in Appendix 2, and monitor your content at the point of transmission to check they are met (Rules 13.1 and 13.2).
- Make emergency information, including public announcements in natural disaster situations, accessible to persons with disabilities through subtitling, preferably open, and audio; in a national emergency take all practicable steps to include Irish Sign Language (Rules 13.4 and 13.5).
- Indicate in the listings you publish, in print, broadcast or online, which programmes have access provision and of what type, keep the listings accurate, and use the standard symbol in promotions of those programmes and at their beginning (Rule 13.6).
- Consult groups representing access users at least once a year about their viewing preferences and your performance against the Rules (Rule 13.7).
- Agree an annual accessibility action plan with the Commission, publish it on your website in an accessible format, give the Commission a copy, and report to it each year on your performance against the plan and the Rules as a whole (Rules 13.8, 13.11 and 13.12).
- Nominate an Access Liaison Officer to deal with audience queries on the Rules, and make their contact details public in an accessible manner (Rule 13.13).
- Keep systems and controls that demonstrate your compliance with the Rules (Rule 7.2).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Penalty structure
A failure to comply with the Rules is a contravention for the purposes of Part 8B of the Broadcasting Act 2009 (s. 46O(11)). Section 139ZW(1) caps the administrative financial sanction at EUR 20,000,000 for an individual and, for a provider that is not an individual, at EUR 20,000,000 or, if greater, 10 per cent of the turnover attributable to the service which gave rise to the contravention in the preceding financial year. A decision takes effect only when confirmed by a court (s. 139ZS(2)).
- Rule
- Higher of
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 20,000,000
- Turnover percentage cap
- 10
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Coimisiún na Meán, which receives complaints that a broadcaster has not complied with the Rules through its Contact Centre, and for which a failure to comply with the Rules is a contravention under Part 8B of the Broadcasting Act 2009, open to an administrative financial sanction
What it reaches
Instrument type
a regulation made under an act
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- Any of
- Criteria
- a television broadcaster under the jurisdiction of the State within the meaning of section 2A of the Broadcasting Act 2009
What this law does
The Rules apply to television broadcasters under the jurisdiction of the State, and give effect to Article 7 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive for them.
Rule 12 sets, for each named television service, the percentage of its output that must carry subtitling, Irish Sign Language and audio description in each of 2025, 2026 and 2027; RTÉ 1, for example, must subtitle 96% of its output in every one of those years, and RTÉ 1 and 2 must carry Irish Sign Language on 6% of output in 2025, 8% in 2026 and 10% in 2027.
Rule 13 requires every broadcaster to meet the quality standards in Appendix 2 so far as practicable, to make emergency information accessible to persons with disabilities, to list and promote its access services, to consult access users at least once a year, to agree an annual accessibility action plan with the Commission and publish it on its website in an accessible format, to report annually, and to nominate an Access Liaison Officer.
A failure to comply with the Rules is a contravention for the purposes of Part 8B of the Broadcasting Act 2009. Section 46O(11) of the Broadcasting Act 2009 makes a failure to comply with a media service rule a contravention for the purposes of Part 8B, under which Coimisiún na Meán may impose an administrative financial sanction. A decision that a contravention has been committed, or to impose a sanction, does not take effect unless a court confirms it.
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