Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht
Capturing Full Value of Genealogical Heritage: Discussion (Resumed)
4:25 pm
Mr. David Thomson:
Before I start to answer the questions, I would like to add to what my colleague Ms. Annelies van den Belt said about how pleased we are to be here. DC Thomson is very pleased to be in a very strong partnership with Eneclann and our commitment to what we think can be done with Irish family history and Irish family records is clear by the strength of the team we have brought to this meeting.
There is a lot that can be done and a great opportunity. I hope all the good work that has been going on over the past few days will engender more of that.
In addition to what has been said regarding the question about how the business works, it is also about the depth and breadth that can be provided. Customers are prepared to pay for the additional content or the additional services, for example, the use of family trees, or the connectivity. Ultimately, this is about connecting records. Of course records need to be provided for free but I believe some people will pay for the convenience, the quality of the service, the quality of the product and the additional elements that can be provided. There will always be those who are prepared to pay for that service, in addition to those who cannot afford to or prefer to take the data for free.
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