Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Tá brón orm as a bheith mall. Bhí mé istigh sa Dáil. I apologise if any of these questions have been asked. I was not following proceedings as I was in the Dáil. My questions relate to the buy-out contracts. Do we need to amend the Bill to ensure it prohibits buy-out contracts for performers and writers? Can we ensure there is full compliance with copyright laws and EU directives? Recently, when I asked RTÉ at a committee whether it could assure us that this practice was not happening I did not get an answer. Will RTÉ indicate whether it has contacted any performers to demand that they amend their contracts or sign away their rights to future residuals before paying them what they are already owed for repeat broadcasts? We want to ensure into the future that those types of practices do not happen. I will let the witnesses answer those questions before I go on to other questions.