Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I want to reassure the Deputy. There are representatives from RAAP in the Gallery today, and I join with the Chairman in welcoming them. A meeting has been scheduled to meet with the officials in the coming weeks. Of course, we will do anything we can. The intention of all of us is to get this right and make sure that the producers as well as the performers, and the performers have been the people who have suffered most until now, are treated in a fair and equitable manner. I thank Deputies Ó Snodaigh and Conway-Walsh in her absence for the four amendments, which were taken today. These are the amendments to section 38 of the main Act. I cannot accept them, and I will explain why.

The Deputies are correct to make the connection between section 38 and section 208. Section 38 sets out the arrangements for users and those who broadcast or communicate music in public to obtain licences. The tariffs paid by the users are, in effect, the moneys that then are distributed as royalties, minus administrative costs, to both the performers and producers. The Government does not propose to amend this part of the Act because it was not found to be defective. The Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 implements EU and international law in the area of copyright.

The Rome Convention is an international convention for the protection of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organisations. Article 12, which was considered by the Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU, states that if a music recording is published, broadcast or communicated to the public, a single equitable remuneration is paid by the user. This is set out in section 38. Article 12 of the convention continues to state that this single equitable remuneration shall be paid by the user to the performers or the producers or to both. Section 38 of the Act provides for equitable remuneration to be paid to the producers. We do not propose to amend this at the moment.

It may be the case that there are different models in place, even within the EU, as to how payments are collected in distributed. In Ireland, this was the subject of a court case, as the Deputy outlined, between RAAP and PPI, which concluded in 2021. Article 12 of the international convention continues to state that "domestic law may, in the absence of agreement between these parties, lay down the conditions as to the sharing of this remuneration." It is repeated in the rental lending directive. This is one of the areas the Bill seeks to address by amending section 208 of the Act. Section 2 sets out the arrangements to improve this process. The Bill now makes very clear that producers must share the actual remuneration with performers. In most cases, they will receive 50%. The way in which this payment is made should not affect the amount of equitable remuneration. The Bill ensures that performers receive their fair share. It is not necessary to include amendments to affect that collective management organisations may represent either party should they wish to do so. This is already the case.