Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on his election. It is just as well we are all independent in this row because I disagree with Senator Quinn. Unlike the Senator, I welcome the scheme of this Bill. I welcome the idea of public lending rights and the introduction of this Bill which is long overdue. I will make some brief points in my allotted time.

The public lending rights scheme does not benefit best-selling authors and those who do not need the money, as Senator Quinn suggested. If done properly, there would be a cap on the amount any individual author can earn in a year, as in the UK model the Irish Writers Union favours where there is a limit of approximately £6,000. This ensures an equitable distribution of money under the scheme. It provides a very small amount per author but it provides a valuable supplement to struggling authors. The Irish Writers Union estimates that only around 50 authors earn their living from royalties while the rest work in other jobs, so this will provide a valuable supplement.

There has been an unjustifiable delay in bringing forward this legislation, although it should now be commended. There were long campaigns to have it passed and Ireland has been in breach of its EU obligations in having far too broad an exemption contained in the original Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000.

An important point, regarding the details of the Bill that I look forward to discussing on Committee Stage relates to the fact that section 7 is facilitative in nature and provides that the Minister may introduce regulations, not that the Minister shall introduce regulations. This is a cause for concern.

The devil is in the detail regarding this Bill. The public lending rights scheme is not set out in the Bill. It merely allows the Minister to introduce such a scheme without setting out details. This will all be in the statutory instrument. I understand that the Minister has said that no payments to authors under the scheme are envisaged until 2009, even if all goes smoothly. This is unjustifiable given how long the Irish Writers Union and others have been campaigning for the introduction of such a scheme. We will need to see what is in the statutory instrument and we would like to know some of the details, such as whether there will be an advisory committee that includes groups representing writers, as is the case in the UK model. We need to know some of this before we can unreservedly welcome the Bill.

I appreciate the Minister's concerns relating to educational institutions and this is something I look forward to dealing with on Committee Stage.