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Dr James O'Sullivan contributes to Oireachtas committee on RT脡 archives

9 Oct 2024

Dr James O鈥橲ullivan, Senior Lecturer in Digital Humanities at UCC, was today invited to address the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media at Leinster House. The Committee shadows the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media, focusing on the following areas under the Department鈥檚 remit: tourism, culture, arts, sport and media.

Dr O鈥橲ullivan was invited to contribute to a session intended to scrutinise the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2023. The Bill intends to amend the Broadcasting Act 2009 to provide for greater public access to the RT脡 archives. Dr O鈥橲ullivan, who is currently seconded to the Higher Education Authority, was invited to contribute to the Oireachtas committee debate as an expert in digital humanities, specifically digital curation, preservation and access, as well as the role of artificial intelligence in archival contexts.

The first part of the meeting heard from Patrick Costello, TD, Officials from Dept. of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, representatives from Raidi贸 Teilif铆s 脡ireann (RT脡).

Dr O鈥橲ullivan then contributed to the session comprising various experts in relevant domains, specifically, Dr Eoin O鈥橠ell, Associate Professor of Law, Trinity College Dublin, representatives from Archives and Records Association Ireland (ARA Ireland), the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA), and Digital Rights Ireland.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Leinster House Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Niamh Smyth said: 鈥淭he Committee鈥檚 work continues tomorrow with focus turning to the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2023 which seeks to allow greater public access to content that is in the possession of our national broadcaster RT脡. This content documents Irish life, culture and the history of the state.鈥�

In addition to a broader submission of his views, Dr O鈥橲ullivan was invited to make a brief statement to the Committee, in which he emphasised the need for careful consideration to be given to the selection of metadata standards, interoperability and data exchange, web integration, and the provenance of AI enhancements.

He concluded his statement with: 鈥淩T脡鈥檚 archives contain materials of unique cultural significance, and morally yes, they should be made openly accessible, but practically, doing so is a major undertaking that has to be done right and in a manner that delivers adequate return on what would be substantial investment.鈥�