Ireland’s State-funded media regulator Coimisiún na Meán has announced that it is giving away almost €4 million in funding for radio and television programmes in Ireland.
On Thursday, the media regulator announced €3.92 million in funding under its Shared Island, Shared Stories funding scheme.
It said that the money is intended to support programmes which explore “shared heritage, cultural exchange and communities across the island of Ireland.”
It follows a €4.4 million fund from the regulator for journalism which it deemed to be in the public interest
Taoiseach Micheál Martin explicitly welcomed the funding, stating: “I welcome this announcement of funding by Coimisiún na Meán awarding support to 27 media productions across the island of Ireland under the ‘Shared Island, Shared Stories’ scheme.”
It comes after the media regulator was criticised for intervening in the debate over RTE not receiving an extra €20 million, as promised, in State funding this year.
Coimisiún na Meán said that the funding was “disappointing,” while critics argued that the regulator should not act as an advocate for the broadcasters it regulates.
While the funding was announced by Coimisiún na Meán, it forms part of a €14 million Shared Island Media Fund financed through the Government’s shared island initiative.
A published list of funded productions under the new round of funding include the BBC Northern Ireland production Loyal, which received €450,000 funding from the regulator. Spritelines / Siofrai Solais, also by BBC Northern Ireland, will receive €440,000.
Aiséirí, produced by the Irish language public service broadcaster TG4, is set to receive €400,000 from the funding.
Hallowed Ground, produced by RTE One, also gets €400,000, whilst the Last Parliament on Oireachtas TV received €80,000 in the recommended funding amounts listed by Coimisiún na Meán.
RTE features heavily in the list of 27 productions to have received funding.
“X-Spelled:All Ireland Spelling Quiz” on RTE 2 received €490,000 in funding, whilst ‘The Peace She Left Us’ was given €220,000.
Newstalk also received funding for some productions – €6,900 for A Garda and a Policewoman, €5,300 for Accidents Happen, Michael and the RNLI, and €4,495 for a production called ‘Are you a Protestant Jew or a Catholic Jew? Irish Jews and the Troubles.”
Virgin Media was also listed among recipients, with Heartbeat Heroes on Virgin Media One receiving €316,470 in funding from the grant. ‘Inside the Dementia Brain’ on Virgin Media One received €204,700.
It comes after the regulator helped fund and support the Toxic Threads documentary, which aired on Virgin Media One on 12 October.
The documentary, presented by Brian Dowling Gouroulian, was produced with “support from Coimisiún na Meán’s Sound and Vision Scheme.”
Dowling Gouroulian, who had a child through surrogate with his male partner, investigates what Virgin Media say is “the human cost of online hate, harassment, and trolling—particularly targeting gossip forums like Tattle Life, same-sex parenting, and his family.”
In it, the presenter explores “online trolling and anonymous harassment”. Online, some have questioned whether those criticised in the programme were given a fair opportunity to respond.
The programme also looked at what it said was “abuse” directed at public figures, including Brian and his husband Arthur, former Irish Times journalist Aoife Moore, and Senator Eileen Flynn – condemning what it said was the impact of “racist, homophobic and threatening messages.”
Questions have been raised online since the programme aired last week about where legitimate criticism of public figures ends and targeted harassment starts.