Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 306:

In page 129, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following:

“Irish Cultural Works

159AA. (1) For the purposes of this section, ‘Irish cultural works’ are defined as works that satisfy the following criteria: (a) works of music that satisfy two of the following criteria:

(i) the music or lyrics are composed or written by a resident of the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands;

(ii) at least one of the artists involved in the performance of the music is a resident of the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands;

(iii) the performance is recorded entirely on the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands or performed wholly and broadcast live on the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands;

(iv) the majority of the lyrics are in the Irish language.

(b) audiovisual or cinematic content that satisfies one of the following criteria:

(i) the work is made by one or more producers established on the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands;

(ii) the work is supervised and controlled by one or more producers established on the island of Ireland or associated offshore islands;

(iii) there are co-producers established outside of the island of Ireland and associated offshore islands, but the contribution of co-producers established on the island of Ireland or associated offshore islands is preponderant and co-production is not controlled by one or more co-producers established outside of the island of Ireland and associated offshore islands;

(iv) the screenplay and/or script is written by a resident of the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands, or based on a work written by a resident of the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands;

(v) actors, performers, presenters or participants who were resident on the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands at the time of filming feature for at least half of the total screen time of the work;

(vi) the majority of the filming, recording and editing of the work takes place on the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands;

(vii) the performance is recorded entirely on the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands or performed wholly and broadcasted live on the island of Ireland or associated small offshore islands;

(viii) the majority of the verbal content of the work is in the Irish language;

(ix) signing in Irish Sign Language features prominently in the work.

(2) The Arts Council shall, following authentication, provide certification for any work that meets the criteria set out in subsection (1) as an Irish cultural work.

(3) RTÉ and Teilifís na Gaeilge as national public service broadcasters have a particular role in supporting the creation, production, promotion and airing or broadcasting of Irish cultural works.

(4) The Commission shall ensure, through the granting or renewal of licences, that any television or sound media broadcasting licence involves a commitment to supporting the creation, production, promotion and airing or broadcasting of Irish cultural works.

(5) The Commission shall conduct an examination of the prominence and use of Irish cultural works in media every five years and produce a report which shall be published before 31 December every five years following its establishment and laid before the Minister, both Houses of the Oireachtas and the Joint Oireachtas Committee upon publication detailing the statistical breakdown of use of Irish cultural works in media over the previous five years, including recommendations for ensuring the enduring success and sustainability of Irish cultural works and options for imposing content requirements or investment obligations on audiovisual and sound media service providers to support the creation, production, promotion and airing or broadcasting of Irish cultural works, in line with the commitments of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive to cultural diversity.”.

This amendment attempts to finally define in law what is considered an Irish cultural work in the context of music and audiovisual works. It is important to note that when we talk about supporting Irish music and Irish films, and when we talk about the role of RTÉ or TG4 as public broadcasters having a role in supporting Irish culture, we do so at present with no clear definition of what counts as Irish music or Irish film. Irish cultural works would be defined in terms of music under the music, artist, performance and lyrics, MAPL, criteria used in Canada for Canadian works. This means works where the music or lyrics are written by an Irish resident, is performed by an artist resident in Ireland or is recorded in Ireland, regardless of who wrote or performed the music. This status would be certified by the Arts Council.

In terms of cinema and audiovisual works, an Irish cultural work would be one where at least one of the producers or co-producers is established in Ireland, where the screenplay or script is written by an Irish resident, where at least half the screen time features Irish performers or participants, where the performance is recorded in Ireland or where the Irish language or Irish sign language feature prominently. They are broad conditions but would provide clarity as to what is meant by an Irish cultural work when certain bodies are expected to support Irish cultural works. We would also task an coimisiún with including a duty towards Irish cultural works when granting licences to television and radio broadcasters.

In subsection (5) we would require an coimisiún to produce a report every five years examining the breakdown of use of Irish cultural works to track progress effectively. An coimisiún would also examine options and make recommendations on what sort of content requirements or investment obligations should be used to support Irish cultural works in line with the commitment to cultural diversity under the AVMSD.