Satellite broadcasters such as BSkyB will be made subject to Irish broadcasting rules under legislation promised by the Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern, today.
In a move to bring foreign-owned media into line with national broadcasting controls, the minister said one of his key initiatives during Ireland's presidency of the EU will be to introduce new powers to regulate satellite broadcasters who provide television services specifically targeted at Irish viewers.
Noting the "explosion" of such services, Mr Ahern said changes to EU law should reflect this and contain measures to allow such regulation.
Satellite broadcasters, which are currently not subject to regulation in countries outside their broadcasting headquarters, would then come under the jurisdiction of member states into which they provide television channels that are meant for reception only in that state.
The move would give the communications regulator ComReg powers over Sky which it currently exercises over Irish cable television operators such as NTL and Chorus.
Mr Ahern said the proposals are contained in Ireland's submission to the EU Commission on the Review of the Television Without Frontiers Directive which is currently underway.
He said he would press for a "fundamental review" of this directive under Ireland's presidency of the EU, which begins in January.
"We need a level playing field in the area of trans-frontier broadcasting," he said today.
"It is simply not on that satellite broadcasters who provide television services specifically for viewers in a particular member state are not subject to regulation in that member state. In the Irish context we need to be able to ensure that Irish broadcasting standards are applied to television channels intended for reception in Ireland only."
Mr Ahern said the Television Without Frontiers Directive was a "very worthy" piece of EU legislation which had enabled him to unravel the controversial soccer deal between the Football Association of Ireland and Sky last year. However, he said it needed to be amended to keep pace with changes in the European broadcasting environment.
"There is little point, for instance, in providing member states with the powers to protect, for example, minors, if such national measures do not apply to all television services intended specifically for that member state. Our ability to provide meaningful national measures is being eroded."
"There has been an explosion in the number of broadcast services available and the Directive should reflect this and contain measures that allow such regulation."