Irish Examiner view: Big Tech is thumbing its nose at Coimisiún na Meán
Coimisiún na Meán launched its three-year strategy yesterday, and it is difficult to argue against many of the objectives in its plans.
Ireland's media regulator picked out several areas which need close attention. Safeguarding children from online threats is one, while maintaining the integrity of elections in the face of interference by malign actors is another.
launched its three-year strategy yesterday, and it is difficult to argue against many of the objectives in its plans.
Ireland's media regulator picked out several areas which need close attention.
Safeguarding children from online threats is one, while maintaining the integrity of elections in the face of interference by malign actors is another.
The various dangers posed by artificial intelligence (AI) as well as the regulation of online advertising are other matters under consideration.
All in all, Coimisiún na Meán is not short of challenges, some of which have a tendency to infect each other. At the launch of the organisation's strategy, for instance, its online safety commissioner Niamh Hodnett said that it had already engaged with tech organisations about child abuse images generated by AI.
'We did meet with Open AI — ChatGpt — recently,' said Ms Hodnett.
We discussed concerns in general in relation to online safety, including AI-generated CSAM [child sexual abuse material], and we would meet with all the platforms in this regard to highlight our concerns.'
It is disheartening to consider that Coimisiún na Meán's good intentions are not matched by its powers.
Those seem impressive at first — it can impose fines of up to 6% of a company's turnover, or €20m, whichever is greater, but that needs to be seen in context.
Just this week, the European Commission fined Apple €500m and Meta €200m for breaches of the EU's digital competition rules, amounts which are staggering to contemplate for mere mortals — but which will hardly cause a ripple in those firms' end-of-year accounts.
It would be encouraging to report unequivocal support and co-operation from tech firms when it comes to the significant issues being raised by Coimisiún na Meán, but the regulatory body reported yesterday that it is already dealing with 'pushback' from some firms operating in this area.
This is a polite way of saying those firms are thumbing their noses at the State's official regulator, which is an accurate representation of the balance of power here — and an indication of the challenges facing Coimisiún na Meán.
Housing targets missed
The Department of Housing published figures this week on the Government's social housing targets, and they do not make good reading.
The figures show that not only has the Government missed its 2024 social and affordable housing targets, it delivered fewer homes last year than it did in 2023.
The Department of Housing reported that there were 7,871 new-build social homes constructed in 2024, over 1,400 homes below the target of 9,300 new builds the Government pledged in its housing for all plan. That 2024 number also falls well short of the 8,110 new-build social homes delivered in 2023.
It is the first time that the delivery of social and affordable housing has gone backwards, which is a remarkable but unwelcome milestone.
The country has never been wealthier, with plenty of the markers of affluence, such as employment levels, reaching unprecedented heights. Yet, we are building fewer social and affordable houses than we were in previous years. That is not in relative terms — but in raw numbers.
Earlier this week, minister for housing James Browne outlined in these pages his plans to speed up the delivery of housing across the country. He stated that he was not interested in 'politics as usual'.
Almost immediately afterwards, however, he was dealing with one of the most glaring examples of 'politics as usual' in contemporary Irish life: Trying to explain the inadequacies in the Government's response to the housing crisis.
The minister was reported as acknowledging the shortfall in housing figures, but adding that it was not 'as pronounced as may have been feared'. This in itself is a telling indication of where we are now with the housing crisis: It is embarrassing to consider the minister responsible is reduced to saying the failure was not as abject as initially feared.
The Government should be able to hit its own social and affordable housing targets. Failure to do so is a searing indictment of its capabilities.
What's your view on this issue?
You can tell us here
Feelgood 25th anniversary
Today we mark a special date in the history of the Irish Examiner — it is the 25th anniversary of Feelgood, the health and wellbeing section of the newspaper, and we make no apologies for celebrating one of our own.
Feelgood has been an outstanding success in its quarter-century run, thanks to its driving force, editor Irene Feighan. Ever since she took the reins back in 2000, she has ensured that standards in Feelgood's coverage match her own personal example in energy, imagination, and excellence.
Over Feelgood's 25 years, it has covered the huge changes in health and wellbeing, from the importance of women's health issues to the significance of legislative changes made in that time period, from vaccination schemes to the pandemic and its consequences, and the growing awareness of mental health issues — and all points in between.
True to form, the anniversary edition of Feelgood maintains those high standards and will feature four leading women in medicine who reflect on the progress made in their area — and highlight the work that remains to be done.
Little wonder that President Michael D Higgins has congratulated Feelgood on 25 years of covering specific issues that make a difference. Congratulations to Irene and thank you to all the writers and readers who have supported Feelgood over the last quarter of a century.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Fraught days ahead for Government with planned changes to RPZs
The next few days will be fraught politically. The Government is preparing what it believes is an intricate balancing act between renters' rights and developers' ambitions. The logic underpinning this is that enhancing tenants' rights can be delivered in tandem with less strict rent caps. Therefore, investors will get back to building more homes and ultimately the supply shortage can be eased. The backdrop to this move is record high rents and the growing feeling among many that the social contract has been broken. It all suggests that this will be a hard sell. Opposition parties already believe that renters are being thrown under the bus. It is all part of the long awaited redraw of the Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) where the annual rent hike is capped at 2%. In new buildings that cap will now be scrapped and instead rents will be linked to inflation. The proposal, which Minister for Housing James Browne will bring to Cabinet, will also allow landlords with existing properties to reset rents for new tenants to the market rate. After that they would be subject to the current 2% cap. In exchange tenants will get security of tenure for six years in a move that the Government believes will bring an end to no fault evictions. Questions are already being raised about just how secure current tenants are under these new changes. On the surface, at least they do not appear to be subject to significant change. However, Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin believes the proposals will put tens of thousands of tenants with pre-2022 tenancies at risk. That is because their landlords can evict them for no reason at the end of their six-year tenancy under the law as it stands. That means these landlords would have the right to reset rents to new market levels after these tenants' six-year tenancies come to an end. This is one of many pertinent questions about the changes that will inevitably lead to heated exchanges in the Dáil next Tuesday.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Will the new rental reforms work? Many industry observers are sceptical
What's happening to the rules governing renting? A proposed overhaul of rules is going before Cabinet on Tuesday morning. It would see a significant shake-up in the rental market in the months ahead. What are the current rules? Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) were introduced in 2016 to cap rent increases in areas where there was a very high demand for housing and rental homes. Initially, RPZs were confined to large urban centres but, as the housing crisis deepened, more and more areas were designated RPZs. In these locations, as it stands, rent increases cannot be greater than the rate of inflation or 2 per cent – whichever is lower. What are the changes proposed? The Government is planning to keep the caps for existing tenancies, at least to a large degree, while easing restrictions on rent increases for newly built homes. The plan – and it has yet to be agreed – would see the current RPZ annual caps not apply to new buildings constructed after a certain date, with the rents in qualifying properties instead to be tied to inflation. [ Rent controls to be eased for new builds in planned 'pressure zones' reform Opens in new window ] And why would the Government create what looks like a two-tiered rental system? In fairness, there is already a two-tiered system, with some properties in RPZs and some not, so what the Government is considering is a three-tiered system. READ MORE What is the market currently like for rents? Rents are climbing faster than at any point over the past 20 years, with the national monthly average between January and March surpassing €2,000 for the first time, according to a report from That compares to a low of just €765 in 2011. Why are rents climbing so fast? Much of that increase is down to a lack of supply. There were just 2,300 homes available to rent nationally on May 1st, down 14 per cent year-on-year and the third-lowest total for May in 20 years. In a properly functioning market that number should be closer to 10,000. Why is supply such an issue? There are many, many reasons but the author of the report, Trinity College Dublin economist Ronan Lyons, has said changes made to rent controls in 2021 when rent caps were reduced from 4 per cent to 2 per cent 'dramatically reduced the ability of Ireland's rental sector to attract the capital needed for new supply, the ultimate remedy for the shortage'. And this overhaul is aimed at attracting that capital, is that correct? That is the rationale, certainly. The thinking is that if rent restrictions are eased for new apartments, more money will pour into the sector and more apartments will be built, which will ease the pressure on the market as a whole. Will the owners of these new builds be able to charge what they want? They will be able to charge what the market will bear, for sure. However, there is some good news for people who are renting now: under the proposals the existing cap of 2 per cent will remain in place – at least for existing tenancies, but landlords will be able to increase the rent to the market rate between tenancies, something which is not permitted under the current rules. [ Ireland's rising rents: 'Our budget would have been €1,300 a month, there isn't even anything listed for that' Opens in new window ] Surely that will incentivise landlords to evict their current tenants so they can get new ones in and charge them more? That is undoubtedly a fear. Under the proposals going before Cabinet, there will be more protections put in place for renters for a minimum of six years. During that period, there will be restrictions put in place on no-fault evictions. At the end of a six-year period, a landlord will be able to reset the rent to the market rate. Opposition parties have questioned the adequacy of these planned protections. Will the changes work? That is the big, big question. It is undoubtedly in the Government's interests that it does work. Part of the Government's pitch to voters in the run-up to the last general election was that the State had turned a corner on housing and that the supply of new homes would hit 40,000 in 2024. Completions instead fell by 7 per cent to 30,000. Housing commencements, which indicate future supply, have also fallen off a cliff, with housing starts in the first quarter of 2025 eight times down on last year and at their at their lowest level since 2016. The rate of building when it comes to apartments is even worse. What are interested parties saying about the proposals? Many are unconvinced. The housing charity Threshold has welcomed the degree of security it will give to tenants if restrictions on no-fault evictions are imposed for a six-year period. However, it stressed that it could actually push more people into homelessness if the RPZs are diluted. Opposition parties have been lining up to give out about the proposals. Those voices will only get louder between now and next Tuesday when full details are outlined. The initial reaction from landlords and property investors is that there is little in the plans to support them in the short to medium term. Industry sources have also said that the new measures are 'partial ones' and contain levels of uncertainty that may not encourage the envisaged money to come in to the sector.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Minister says AI ‘does lie' but defends Government amid copyright row
Peter Kyle acknowledged the technology was 'not flawless' as he insisted the Government would 'never sell downstream' the rights of artists in the UK. He also said he had 'mistakenly' said his preferred option on AI and copyright was requiring rights-holders to 'opt out' of their material being used by tech companies, and had since 'gone back to the drawing board'. Ministers have faced a backlash from major figures in the creative industries over their approach to copyright, with Sir Elton John this week describing the situation as an 'existential issue.' The Government is locked in a standoff with the House of Lords, which has demanded artists to be offered immediate copyright protection as an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill. Peers have attempted to change the legislation by adding a commitment to introduce transparency requirements aimed at ensuring rights-holders are able to see when their work has been used and by whom. Asked about the risk of AI producing unreliable information, Mr Kyle said 'people need to understand that AI is not flawless, and that AI does lie because it's based on human characteristics'. 'Now it is getting more precise as we move forward. It's getting more powerful as we move forward,' he told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips. 'But as with every single technology that comes into society, you can only safely use it and wisely use it by understanding how it works.' He added: 'We are going to legislate for AI going forward and we're going to balance it with the same legislation that we'll bring in to modernise the copyright legislation as well.' The Government has said it will address copyright issues as a whole after the more than 11,500 responses to its consultation on the impact of AI have been reviewed, rather than in what it has branded 'piecemeal' legislation. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Among the proposals had been a suggestion that tech companies could be given free access to British music, films, books in order to train AI models without permission or payment, with artists required to 'opt-out' if they do not want their work to be used. Asked about the prospect of an opt-out clause, Mr Kyle told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'I always had on the table from the outset an opt-out clause. 'But I mistakenly said this was my preferred option that had more prominence than perhaps some of the creatives wanted it to have, and I've now sort of gone back to the drawing board on that, because I am listening to what people want.' Last month hundreds of stars including Sir Elton, Sir Paul McCartney and Kate Bush signed a joint letter to Sir Keir Starmer urging the Prime Minister to introduce safeguards against work being plundered for free.
