Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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3. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if, in view of Ireland's ranking as an innovation follower by the EU Innovation Union Scoreboard, he has identified the State's weaknesses in this area and the measures he proposes to achieve a higher ranking; if he specifically has identified Ireland's copyright and intellectual property regime as a major barrier to innovation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33468/13]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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In the most recent Innovation Union Scoreboard it was most encouraging to see Ireland retaining its position among those member states with above average performance in their research and innovation systems. This complements Ireland's recent ranking of tenth in the Global Innovation Index 2013 which is also a very positive affirmation of our capabilities in this area. In the Innovation Union Scoreboard, Ireland is notably ranked first for economic effectsdue toits strong performance in employment in knowledge-intensive activities and third for human resources. Ireland also performs well above the EU 27 average for indicators such as population, with tertiary education, international scientific co-publications, and knowledge-intensive services exports. The average annual growth rate of Ireland's performance, as calculated over the five-years 2008 to 2012, is positive at 0.7%, notwithstanding the economic difficulties experienced over the period. There is, of course, room for improvement in our performance and in the context of the development of a framework for monitoring the impact of public investment in science, technology and innovation developed as part of the research prioritisation exercise soon to be published, we have set a target for Ireland to increase its ranking from tenth to eighth place overall by 2017.

The scoreboard identifies a number of areas where Ireland's performance is below the EU average, including venture capital; non-research and development expenditure by firms and sales of new-to-market and new-to-firm innovations. A number of initiatives are in place to strengthen Ireland's innovation position generally and to address these specific weaknesses.

We recently launched a new €175 million seed and venture capital scheme, 2013-2018, aimed at providing additional funding for high-growth Irish companies with the potential to generate large amounts of additional export sales and grow jobs. The scheme is part of a series of funding mechanisms put in place by the Government to improve access to finance for companies, including the micro-finance fund, the development capital scheme, the credit guarantee scheme, the international start-up fund and innovation fund Ireland.

Implementation of the recommendations in the report of the research prioritisation steering group, which I chair, will see an enhanced focus on commercialisation of research and collaboration with enterprise.

Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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The Minister of State has exceeded his time.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I will be able to answer the second half of the question, relating to copyright review, in the second tranche of the time allocated.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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That is the bit I have been waiting for. Clearly we have many advantages, but the reason I raised this issue is because I believe we can exploit those advantages to a greater extent. When the Minister of State talks about young people and this particular area, he is getting it right. We now call young people digital natives, because they are so in tune with technology. The innovations mentioned by the Minister of State are one thing, but would he agree that creating a transparent, fair and cost effective copyright system would go a long way towards stimulating growth in areas that are currently untapped?

Will the Minister of State outline when the expert report is likely to be published? People should be fairly compensated if they have copyright, and I certainly would not argue that this should not be the case. However, it seems-----

Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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The Deputy is over time.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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It seems that because our legislation is now 13 years old, we are probably restricting our potential. Does the Minister of State agree?

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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The straight answer to that question is "Yes". I will read into the record the issue in regard to the independent copyright review committee. This committee was established in May 2011 and its aim is to examine the Irish copyright framework in order to identify areas that might be considered to create barriers to innovation and to make recommendations to resolve any problems identified, whether at national or EU level. I expect this committee will present its final report during this month.

I agree that we in this country must ensure we strike a balance to ensure that, where new business models are coming forward in this digital age - Deputy Murphy referred to the digitalised society - we create a legislative package that is in line with the times we live in. I agree the legislation is possibly outdated in that sense.

The copyright review is an independent process and is being done on a pro bono basis.

Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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The Minister is over time.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I apologise but I want to answer the question. We want to ensure that if the recommendations of that independent review group state that changes to legislation are needed, we will have to look seriously at what those recommendations are in the first instance. I have not seen the report, although we are expecting it this month. It could be that Ireland wants to place itself ahead of the EU curve. It must be remembered that we are at present hindered in some respects by the EU's legislative framework on copyright.

Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I have to ask the Minister of State to conclude.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I would like to come back in if I can.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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I am glad the Minister of State is open to the idea of Ireland becoming a first mover, given companies like Twitter and Facebook did not exist when our legislation was framed. Highly successful enterprises are at present partially based on consumption of pre-existing material. I reiterate that people need to be compensated for their intellectual capital but, at the same time, there are real opportunities here. The Minister of State might tell us if the report indicates that legislation is needed, and I would be surprised if it does not indicate that. When might we see that legislation?

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I have not seen the report because it is an independent body and we have absolutely respected the fact it is independent. The terms of reference set out by the Government are to examine current national copyright legislation and identify any areas that are perceived to create barriers to innovation, and to identify solutions for removing these barriers and make recommendations as to how these solutions might be implemented through changes to national legislation. There might be a challenge where there is both EU legislation and national legislation, and where a national legislature like our own might want to move ahead of the EU position. On the other hand, it might transpire that national copyright legislation requires to be amended but cannot be amended, bearing in mind that Irish copyright legislation is bound by the EU's directives on copyright and related rights and other international obligations. The terms of reference also included making recommendations for changes to EU directives that will eliminate the barriers to innovation and optimise the balance between protecting creativity and promoting and facilitating innovation.

Everybody recognises the right to protection of copyright but there are so many new business models that have evolved in an online setting in this digital age we live in. Given the fact our own situation is such that we have so many "born on the Internet" companies present here in Ireland and employing thousands of people, the legislation has to be framed in a way that is reflective of the times we live in.

Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Again, the Minister of State is way over time. We must move to the next question.