Mr. David Kavanagh:

We have spoken perhaps too much about the audio-visual sector. This applies in other sectors as well, for example, in the visual arts if a painting is sold by an auctioneer a percentage of the new price for the painting goes back to the original artist. That was introduced in Ireland after a particular artist took the then Government to court for non-transmission of the directive. It was then introduced by statutory instrument but at the lowest possible level, generating the minimum possible income for artists because it was not introduced by way of legislation. Similar examples apply to books in libraries. When a book is borrowed from a library a very small payment is made to the writer. That is a very useful source of future income but it was introduced in Ireland approximately ten years after it was required by the European Commission and after the latter had sanctioned Ireland for failure to implement the directive. This was then implemented by statutory instrument at the minimum possible level.

I do not mean to criticise the civil servants or Ministers involved but that task is being performed by a Department which has no interest in artists' income and it is not in the control of the Department which is interested in that income. The result is policy confusion which impacts negatively on artists.