Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, and wish him continued success. During his tenure as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation he was so diligent that I foretold his appointment as a Minister of State within a short period.

I welcome the Minister of State's presentation of the Bill which Fianna Fáil supports. As he stated, intellectual property is the key to supporting innovation in business. Patents add enormous economic value to new inventions by granting their inventors a 20 year monopoly, enabling the commercial exploitation of novel ideas in the marketplace. Trademarks ensure businesses can promote brand identity and safeguard hard won reputations for quality products and services by protecting their brands from illegal imitations. As a business person, I had to deal with this issue. Brand identity and the protection of one's brand are the key to the success and growth of one's business and the creation of employment.

Fianna Fáil supports the provisions which provide for the ratification of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks. This updates legislation, taking account of developments since the trademarks law treaty was developed in the 1990s. In particular, it reflects the use of trademarks in e-commerce and the development of non-traditional marks such as sound, three-dimensional marks and holograms. In ratifying the Singapore treaty Ireland will be acting in concert with some of the major players in the intellectual property world such as the USA and Australia which have already ratified it.

Ireland has a hard won international reputation in the foreign direct investment area and our success is due to the continued support of different Governments in attracting foreign direct investment into Ireland. There has been no hiccup in this regard. I hope the public will bear this in mind in the context of the Independents seeking to form a Government following the next general election, some of whom come from extreme left-wing groups. Were they to get their hands on the economy, it would send a bad message internationally in the context of foreign direct investment, as stability is critical. Companies must know before coming to Ireland that everything will remain as is.

Ireland also has a hard won reputation in terms of excellence in research and development. We have an excellent base on which to make further progress. Two thirds of Ireland's research and development takes place in the private sector, in creating new products and service innovations that will drive exports, growth and job creation. Productive high calibre research undertaken by highly skilled research teams, working closely with industry partners, must continue to be a priority. Innovation, innovation, innovation is the name of the game. As I said, the protection of companies' intellectual property rights is critical. Ireland needs a research and development framework that is competitive to encourage research and development activity and provide protection for the output of that research.

Any patent system must strike a balance between rewarding innovation and ensuring a high level of competition. Patent holders are entitled to protection for a maximum of 20 years. However, a patent holder can also get an extension for up to a further five years.

A current report on the importance of generic medicines across the EU indicates that over half of the volume of EU medicines are generic, but this represents just 18% in value terms. The report also mentions that, to date, generic medicines in the EU have generated savings worth €30 billion. Ireland was, as the Minister of State knows, late in getting involved in generic medicines. As a state we were slow to realise their full potential for the health budget.

The main benefit of the proposed new legislation would be the creation of a similar level of legal certainty in Ireland to that currently enjoyed in other jurisdictions with a broader research exemption. This would help to level the playing field when it comes to considering locations for future pharma investment. In encouraging innovation in research and development by the pharmaceutical sector, Ireland has greater flexibility to ensure that it maintains its strong position and attracts high value-added investment.

The objective of the Singapore treaty on trademarks is to create a modern and dynamic international framework for the harmonisation of administrative trademark registration procedures. States who have ratified the treaty include France, Spain, Denmark, Poland and the United States of America, and more than 50 countries have committed to ratification. I compliment the clarity of the Minister of State's speech on this issue. It is a complex issue, but the speech was first class. I am not being patronising; I am giving my honest opinion.

As the Minister of State said at the end of his speech, I would like to emphasise that the Bill before us is a modest, but significant, enhancement of Ireland's intellectual property regime. The amendments to the Competition Act 2002 will remove any potential ambiguity as to how one should interpret the provisions related to the full media mergers process, in particular the role of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland when examining such a merger. I compliment the Minister of State and his staff on the simplification of this quite complex but most important issue.