Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Chair and members for resuming this meeting today on this very important legislation on Committee Stage. I thank them for their patience and forbearance. I know we had a very robust discussion on the last day, particularly with Deputy Ó Snodaigh, and I look forward to having further discussion with members today.

I thank the Chair and members for facilitating the resumption of Committee Stage today and for their engagement on the Bill thus far. While the engagement was extensive and somewhat technical during the previous consideration of this Stage on 17 July we were able to conclude sections 1 and 2.

I welcome representatives from Recorded Artists Actors Performers, RAAP, who are in the Gallery. They have had continual engagement with my officials in the Department. I thank them for that as well. It is much appreciated.

I hope that we could conclude the remaining sections today in a timely manner, which would allow us to progress this important legislation through the remaining Stages of the legislative process. The committee's support and engagement on this important matter is very much appreciated. I apologise to committee members and to Oireachtas officials for having to reschedule this session on a number of occasions. I thank them for their forbearance. I thank them most warmly for their co-operation on the matter.

As I stated previously, the purpose of the Bill is narrow and it is to introduce the required amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Act following a European Court of Justice ruling delivered in September 2020. It is imperative that this Bill be enacted to restore Irish copyright legislation to compliance with EU and international law. It has been over five years since the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment was delivered in September 2020 and we cannot delay the enactment of this legislation.

Once enacted the Bill will ratify our national legislation, which has been found to be in breach of EU and international law. The necessity of this is clear, and in particular as Ireland prepares to take ownership of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second-half of next year. It is vital that we have an efficient legal framework in place to support copyright and intellectual property. It is an essential part of the economic health of the creative sector, in particular for the music sector, which is a significant employer in the State, and so important to us in terms of our cultural expression and well-being.

I would also like to reiterate that the Government proposes to introduce an amendment to section 2 on Report Stage.

I presented the committee with a detailed overview of it in last July. Before we continue proceedings, I would like to make a small clarification from the previous sitting on this Stage. During exchanges with members of the committee, I advised that there had been no referrals to the controller in the past 20 years. However, to clarify, as I mentioned during our previous sittings, there were no referrals to the controller under section 208 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act, until a referral was made in relation to the dispute between the two parties that was before the courts. However, referrals have been made under different provisions of the Act.