A Dáil committee will today begin public hearings on the Government's proposed Broadcasting Bill, allowing for the setting up of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).
The authority will look at the future of the television licence and put in place a right of reply system for those who feel their reputations have been damaged on air.
Almost 500 observations have been made to the Dáil Committee on Communications by members of the public on the draft Bill since it was published last autumn, and an online discussion forum has been set up to allow the public to debate its proposals.
The committee's chairman, Fianna Fáil TD Noel O'Flynn, said yesterday that for the first time, a committee's hearings will be webcast. The website hosting public observations on the Bill has recorded some 60,000 hits.
Mr O'Flynn said the committee will consider various aspects of the Bill over the next two days, including the definition of a television. He said technological developments meant that the definition of what constitutes a television has to be discussed.
"Should there be a licence for a PC which has a TV receiving card for example? These are questions that have to be considered."
The committee will also discuss safeguards and guarantees regarding the Irish language and clarification of the objectives of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) in regard to electronic programme guides, digital media, and community radio.
Sponsorship, quotas for ads and news/current affairs will also be discussed and the contract for, and collection of, the licence fee.
In its submission, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) said the new authority's proposed structure might impact upon the perception of the independence of the BCC's work.
Fujitsu Siemens and mobile phone company 3 Ireland have strongly opposed a section in the draft Bill that could expand the definition of a television.