Alex White (Labour)

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 6:

In the inserted section 58, to delete "by an educational establishment" and substitute the following:

", subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the Minister, by an educational establishment which is so prescribed for the purposes of this section or comes within a category of educational establishment that is so prescribed".

My amendment to amendment No. 6 has been tabled because that amendment proposes, in effect, to remove educational institutions from the operation of the new legislation altogether. The purpose of the amendment I suggest is to limit in two ways this blanket exemption for educational establishments. First, I propose that the Minister be given the right to prescribe conditions for the loans. Second, I propose that the Minister be given the power to prescribe categories of establishment. We are all familiar with educational establishments, such as universities, and the great libraries associated with them. There is no difficulty in agreeing to the Minister of State's proposal in that regard. Is there anything to prevent a video shop or some other similar retail outlet from rebranding itself as a video educational institute and starting to lend videos without having to respect the rights of the owners of intellectual property being given out by way of loans? Whereas we all understand the spirit of the Minister of State's intention, the use of the term, "educational institution" may not necessarily cover all eventualities. We have all seen new outlets and new retail bodies springing up and it is not certain that one of them might not one day decide it is an educational institution. This is the basis for the proposal.