Shane Ross (Independent)

I welcome this Bill but would like to ask the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Michael Ahern, why it has taken so long as we have been in breach of an EU directive for many years. A lobby group has pushed for this legislation for 15 years and for some reason the Government failed to respond. I pay tribute to the Irish Writers Union, with which I spoke today, as it has been pushing for this on a lonely road, through the European Writers Union, for a long period.

The kind of flagrant breach of copyright law in which we have indulged is not something of which we, as a nation, can be proud. It should not be necessary for Europe to drag us to right such wrongs, but we should do it spontaneously. We deliberately flouted European law, possibly because it was inconvenient to either the Exchequer or vested interests.

Senator Quinn's suggestion might be constructive in some senses but giving the money to the Arts Council to distribute to worthy recipients would worry me because there is no such thing as objectivity in writing. The Arts Council is a politically appointed body and if it gets its hands on this €1 million, it will yield to the same temptations as all politically appointed bodies, that is, to award the allotted sums to people who happen to be in favour at the time. It is a far better suggestion that the Minister set up an advisory board that includes members of the Irish Writers Union who have expertise, a track record and commitment in this regard. I hope it will not be a blatantly politically appointed body as the Arts Council tends to be.

Approximately 50 writers only can earn their living from writing here. Most earn their living from other activities to which writing is peripheral. We should recognise this by allowing them to draw small amounts of royalties from public libraries that lend their books. There should perhaps be a cap on the amount as in the UK.

Will the Minister of State spell out in his reply what sort of regulations he intends to introduce in this enabling Bill before Committee Stage? The reference to this type of remuneration is especially vague in the Bill and we would appreciate more detail before proceeding, rather than give clearance to the Minister to draw up regulations which are unclear to us.

This is fundamentally a good Bill and I welcome it. It is right that the Exchequer would make these payments. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House.