New rules expected on State advertising

Article 25 of the European Media Freedom Act introduces new transparency requirements concerning spending by public bodies on State advertising. The Media Regulation Bill 2026 seeks to implement these requirements into national law. Our Public, Regulatory & Investigations team discusses the proposals.

What you need to know

Public authorities and entities will be required to prepare and publish a plan setting out how they will comply with their transparency obligations.
The content and operation of the plan must be reviewed every 24 months.
Public authorities and entities will be required to prepare an annual report on their State advertising expenditure.
Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM) will be responsible for monitoring and reporting on State advertising in Ireland.

Introduction

Article 25 of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) introduces new rules designed to improve transparency surrounding public spending on State advertising via:

Media service providers - TV, print, radio, streaming services, and
Providers of online platforms

The Media Regulation Bill 2026 seeks to implement those rules into national law.

The transparency obligations apply to “public authorities or entities”, defined under the Bill as:

Departments of State
Local authorities
Public authorities or entities established under statute, charter or ministerial scheme
Companies in which a local authority or Government minister holds a majority of shares or subsidiaries of these companies, and
Public authorities or entities directly or indirectly controlled by a Government minister or local authority

Compliance plan

Each public authority or entity shall prepare a “compliance plan” detailing how it will comply with the requirements of Article 25 EMFA. This “compliance plan” must include:

A list of the “transparent, objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory criteria” to be applied when awarding a State advertising contract, or a supply or services contract, to a media service provider or online platform provider, and
A description of the “open, proportionate and non-discriminatory procedures” to be applied when awarding a State advertising contract, or a supply or services contract, to a media service provider or online platform provider

The compliance plan must be uploaded to the public authority or entity’s website within six months of the provision’s entry into force. The content and operation of the plan must then be reviewed and, no later than 24 months after the publication date, each public authority or entity must publish:

A revised compliance plan, or
A notice confirming that a revised plan is not necessary

This process shall be repeated every 24 months.

Annual report on State advertising

Public authorities or entities shall publish an annual report on their State advertising expenditure. This report must include, at least, the following information:

The legal names of the media service providers or online platform providers from which services were purchased
The legal names of the business groups to which those media service providers or online platform providers belong, and
The total annual amount spent, and annual amount spent per media service provider or online platform provider

The annual report must be prepared no later than 31 March each year. The first annual report will cover an extended period beginning on 8 August 2025 and ending on 31 December in the year the section enters into force.

Expenditure and monitoring obligations

Public authorities must attempt to distribute their State advertising expenditure across a wide range of media service providers.

Acting via an intermediary, such as an advertising agency, is permissible. However, that intermediary’s activities must be monitored to ensure compliance with the EMFA and national law.

Role of Coimisiún na Meán

CnaM will be responsible for publishing an annual report on State advertising in Ireland. This report may include information on public authorities or entities that fail to comply with their annual reporting obligations. CnaM may also:

Issue requests for more detailed information on the implementation of the compliance plan, and
Prepare and publish guidance on how public authorities and entities can comply with their transparency obligations

Comment

The Media Regulation Bill 2026 seeks to introduce new and extensive transparency obligations concerning State advertising. Public bodies should assess whether they are captured by the definition of a “public authority or entity”.

The Bill is currently making its way through the Oireachtas. While a further eight stages of the legislative process remain to be completed, it is possible that the Bill could be passed into law before the end of the year. Once commenced, the first step will be to put in place a compliance plan. It will also be necessary to:

Prepare and document the policies and procedures, and
Consider staff training to ensure the compliance plan is put into practice

For more information on the Media Regulation Bill 2026 and how your organisation can ensure compliance, contact a member of our Public, Regulatory & Investigations team.