Establishing Coimisiún na Meán, the regulator of broadcasting and online media in Ireland, was no mean feat.
The executive chairman of the State’s newest regulator Jeremy Godfrey says that getting Coimisiún na Meán up and running over the last year or so was like building a plane while flying it.
It is taking over the functions of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and will establish a regulatory framework for online safety.
Mr Godfrey says it delivered on its mission over its first year while building the organisation at the same time.
Leaders’ debate: Harris, Martin and McDonald clash on economy, housing and potential coalitions
Five key moments from the leaders’ debate: ‘You brought the crash, and you brought austerity’
Conor McGregor’s name to be dropped from whiskey brand after Nikita Hand verdict
Séamas O’Reilly on the Tommy Bowe 10 siblings meme: ‘My family thought it was absolutely priceless’
By the time many of the key staff had been recruited the underpinning legislation, the Online Safety and Media Act 2022, had already been passed by the Oireachtas.
He says it is inevitable there would “be things you wish were done differently”, but he had not come across issues that were fundamentally problematic.
“We were set up at breakneck speed,” he says.
Before its establishment in March 2023, he says the Government had to decide what type of agency it wanted and a number of departments were involved in the process.
Mr Godfrey says initially the organisation did not even have a HR person but over the last year has seen its staffing levels rise significantly.
The regulator has about 130 staff while the Government has approved an increase in headcount to 200 staff.
[ With almost 100 regulators, are there too many watchdogs in the State? ]
[ ComReg to be charged with overseeing security of data centres in expansion of its regulatory role ]
It is led by Mr Godfrey as executive chair and a small group of commissioners dealing with online safety, media development and digital services.
He believes that to be fully operational a minimum staff of about 250 will be required.
Mr Godfrey comes to the role after more than 30 years of regulatory, government and business experience in the communications, technology and online sectors, in Ireland and Hong Kong.
He was previously chairman of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and before that served as for eight years as a commissioner and chairman of the telecommunications regulator ComReg.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis