Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his overview of the need for the legislation. I am pleased to support this short Bill and accept it is an important clarification of copyright law. The urgent need for clarification arises from advice received by the National Library of Ireland, which suggested that one potential effect of section 40(1)(b) of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 is the creation of what is termed an "exhibition right" and that must be removed. As the Minister of State outlined, this would mean the owner of a literary or artistic work would require the permission of the copyright holder before the item could be placed on public display.

This would be a perverse development in law covering literary or artistic works. It would represent a restriction on knowledge, a dilution of access to artistic and literary works and a narrowing of the arteries of learning and knowledge. It would be a retrograde step to restrict the public exhibition of such works of creativity and beauty . The very fact that the question has been raised that such a legal situation may exist calls for immediate clarification. I am, therefore, satisfied the Government is taking reasonable, timely and measured action.

Ireland's extensive literary and artistic heritage is a matter of pride to Irish people and a great asset in attracting visitors to Ireland. Cultural tourism is one of the expanding and dependable elements in our modern tourism mix. I like to think that in "Beauty's home", Killarney, we invented and perfected the concept of marketing and promoting cultural tourism against a backdrop of immense natural beauty and human charm. Cultural tourism is intrinsically Irish, it is not weather dependent and it spans all age groups and socio-economic brackets. The Minister of State and all Members are welcome to visit Killarney as we celebrate Killarney 250. It is 250 years since the foundations of tourism in Ireland were laid and it happened in "Heaven's reflex".

If a doubt remained that copyright holders might have an additional right, it would cast another legal and organisational burden on many exhibition venues, many of which are run on a voluntary basis with minimal funding. It would tend to restrict cultural activities and stultify legitimate public exhibition, information and education. I am, therefore, pleased to support this clarifying amendment by the Government.