Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

We have had very good examples in this respect and some books have been very good and very interesting. The issue is subjective and that is the difficulty here. The Arts Council has a view and it has expressed some views to me on this matter. I do not want to say that it takes a narrow focus but it takes one that is very much on the artistic side, if I could put it that way. For example, a large number of books are written relating to sport. Some of them are very good and some are complete rubbish but who am I to decide what is rubbish or good? What is good for one person is not necessarily of interest to others. Given that we live in a world of technology, it is amazing that young kids are ever introduced to reading. The room of young boys, in particular, in a house will have the latest sports book on a personality such as Ronaldo. That is the type of material they want to read because the subjects are their heroes.

It is difficult to deal with such matters. Should the books be excluded on very narrow artistic grounds or do we see a wider benefit in having those kinds of books included? The Deputy would probably agree that many of those books are not very profitable. The book referred to by the Deputy earlier would not have a very significant international resonance. The book is available for the market over here but such books are of specific interest to people in this country or Irish people abroad.

We are in a finalised position and I am sorry for the delay in the process between what the Arts Council is suggesting, what the Revenue Commissioners feels should be involved and what our own officials have stated. It is a very subjective issue and it bothers me. I do not want to be elitist and neither does the Deputy.

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