MURPHY v. IRELAND JUDGMENT 11 4. The Broadcasting Act 2001 (“the 2001 Act”) 29. The 2001 Act was mainly designed to facilitate the introduction of digital terrestrial broadcasting in Ireland. The IRTC became the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and was given expanded functions and powers in relation to digital broadcasting. 30. Section 18 of the 2001 Act applied section 10(3) of the 1988 Act to digital and other broadcasting services. However, section 65 of the 2001 Act relaxed the prohibition of the broadcasting of religious advertising as follows: “65. Nothing in section 20(4) of the Act of 1960 or section 10(3) of the Act of 1988 (including either of those sections as applied by this Act) shall be construed as preventing the broadcasting of a notice of the fact (a) that a particular religious newspaper, magazine or periodical is available for sale or supply, or (b) that any event or ceremony associated with any particular religion will take place, if the contents of the notice do not address the issue of the merits or otherwise of adhering to any religious faith or belief or of becoming a member of any religion or religious organisation.” 31. This section was proposed by the Minister at the Committee stage on 30 November 2000 as an added section to the Bill already published. The Committee accepted the proposal without debate. C. Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 32. The Directive co-ordinates certain provisions of Member States of the European Community on television broadcasting. Article 12 of the Directive provides, inter alia, that television advertising shall not prejudice respect for human dignity, include any discrimination on grounds of race, sex or nationality or be offensive to religious or political beliefs. THE LAW ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 9 AND 10 OF THE CONVENTION 33. The applicant complains under Articles 9 and 10 about section 10(3) of the 1988 Act.