Mr. Bernard O'Connor:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee. We have talked to Deputies O'Reilly, Shanahan, Barry and others. I thank all members for having this meeting to discuss this important issue. We are here because the business of glass in Waterford has reached a critical point and may soon be lost. The EU legislation the Chairman talked about has given us an opportunity to save this heritage. Right now, almost all production of glass sold under the name "Waterford" is produced outside of the county of Waterford in a place called Rogaška in Slovenia. A very limited amount of glass is produced in the visitor centre in Waterford. The number of artisans left is less than a dozen and many of them are long past retirement. The skills and expertise of these glass-blowers, cutters and engravers, perfected over half a century, are now being lost.

The legislation that came into effect in October of last year can remedy the situation by registering the name "Waterford" as a geographical indication for the benefit of the Waterford community, its residents and the workers. We understand the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is planning on advising the EU that Ireland intends to adopt implementing regulations. We do not know that this will happen. One of the reasons we asked for this meeting is that notice has to go to the European Commission by 30 November, which is in five or six weeks. We do not know what the Department will do. We believe it will notify the Commission that Ireland will implement this regulation.

The Friends of Waterford proposal was developed in consultation with local residents, Unite the Union workers and its Waterford branch, and with the assistance of legal and financial advisors. We believe our proposal will preserve the name "Waterford" for Ireland and Waterford, contribute to the maintenance of a craft in Waterford and ensure that the craft skills and expertise are preserved and transferred to new generations. We propose that, in conjunction with South East Technological University, a degree course be developed in all areas of glass-making, including preservation of skills, design and advanced technologies. We believe, too, that it will maximise local employment.

What is a geographical indication, GI? A GI is an intellectual property designed to protect cultures and traditions. We strongly believe that Waterford qualifies as a geographical indication. The EU has adopted this law for craft and industrial products and that is what we believe Waterford glass is. The purpose of the law of geographical indications is to ensure that a reputation built up over generations for a specific product from a particular location is protected collectively for the benefit of the community. We have many examples in terms of agricultural products. We have Parma ham or champagne while in Ireland, we have the Waterford blaa, Irish grass-bred beef and Irish whiskey, which is a whole-island GI.

A GI must be contrasted with a trademark. A trademark is a privately owned property right. The trademark for Waterford is owned currently by Fiskars, a Finnish corporation, which I will come back to later. The use of the EU trademark is not tied to the city or county of Waterford.

Under our proposal, the use of the "Waterford" name would be available to all producers in Waterford who met the applicable standards. Those standards would require that the glass be blown and cut in Waterford and meet quality and artisanal requirements. The association would be charged with ensuring the proper use of the GI for the benefit of residents of the county and city of Waterford, those employed in glass-making and engraving, and, more generally, the Republic of Ireland. Our idea of an association could serve as a model for other GIs, such as Donegal tweed or Connemara marble.

Our proposal also feeds into a 2015 study from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland which recommended positioning Waterford as a global centre for glass. Existing producers wishing to produce quality crystal in Waterford will be invited to participate in the association structure. The association will seek to expand the product mix and be in a position to invite others to participate. The board would be advised by legal counsel and a financial adviser. Unfortunately, I understand the financial adviser who was to participate cannot get online but let us see.

We need to talk about Fiskars. It is the largest marketer of crystal under the name "Waterford", principally to the US market. There is an interesting interplay between the GI, which would be a publicly held intellectual property right, and the privately held trademark. I can explain how that might work. Right now, crystal accounts for about - this is a guesstimate - 6% of Fiskars's overall sales. Fiskars is a Finnish corporation which moved from being a gardening tool manufacturer to a luxury good manufacturer. Most recently, it bought Georg Jensen, the Danish silver maker. We believe getting the Waterford geographical indication right will benefit Fiskars in the long run. We have reached out to Fiskars but it has not said "No" or "Yes". There is already a bit of a kickback against Waterford Crystal using the "Waterford" mark when it is known it is not made in Waterford. Awarding the GI to the community carries very little risk for Fiskars.

We urge committee members to take advantage of the opportunity granted by this new legislation and to implement it according to the Friends of Waterford's suggestion.