Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I thank the Minister of State and Government for providing time for this very important debate. Deputy Donnelly outlined some of the main issues and objections many people who have approached us have concerns about. I raised some of the same issues last Thursday during a Topical Issues debate.

Tens of thousands of people have been mobilised on this matter. The Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland voiced its concern about the vague wording and stated the Charter of Fundamental Rights must be respected for both users and service providers. Its members include Google, Eircom and UPC. It is worth restating - Deputy Donnelly already made the point - that neither he nor I object to the proper exercise of EU copyright law in this country. We understand the obligations on the Minister of State to vindicate that law. I appreciate he has been put in a difficult place.

It is in that spirit that we made an alternative proposal which we delivered to his office earlier today. We were trying to strike a fairer balance. I would like to thank T. J. McIntyre and Simon McGarr for their expertise and assistance in this regard. Crucially, the alternative wording lays out a number of specific considerations that must be taken into account by any judge setting down some boundaries when deciding the grounds upon which an injunction might be granted under the Act.

Specific freedoms, such as those listed in Scarlet v. Sabam decision in the European Court of Justice, to which the Minister of State referred, include the freedom to conduct business, the right to protection of personal data and the right to receive or impart information. The wording also lays out specific recourse to the Data Protection Commissioner by requiring the court to notify it if it considers that the right to the protection of personal data may be affected by the granting of an injunction.

In respect of costs, the burden which may be placed upon an intermediary against whom any junction may be sought should by rights be borne by the applicant and the text reflects that. We need to recognise that primary legislation is the most appropriate way to make these regulations. We propose a sunset clause which would expire in two years' time. The copyright review committee, to which the Minister of State referred, chaired by Dr. Eoin O'Dell, is expected to complete his work in the summer. It would be an ideal opportunity to commence work on primary legislation.

We offer this remedy in the spirit of trying to show a balanced approach to applying EU copyright law in Ireland and also reassuring Internet users, providers, website owners and online businesses that they have nothing to worry about if they use the Internet fairly and honestly. I hope the Minister of State would be in a position to take some of our proposals on board. We want to try to resolve the problem.

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