Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Bacik for her warm welcome. I am delighted to see her, as an elected Senator, here too. I am also delighted to see Senator Victor Boyhan, my constituency colleague from Dún Laoghaire. Senator Bacik has raised an important matter. An independent Copyright Review Committee was established in May 2011 with the objective of examining copyright in the Irish context. This included considering the need to review and modernise existing legislation. The committee held a consultation to help gauge stakeholder opinion and this led to a series of recommendations by the committee. The committee then held a second consultation on those ideas. Its report entitled Modernising Copyright was published in October 2013 and contains in excess of 60 recommendations.

My Department has conducted extensive analysis of the committee’s recommendations. This includes an assessment of the complex legal issues involved. Advice was obtained from the Office of the Attorney General, and relevant Departments were consulted to develop proposals. One recommendation relates to improved access to justice before the courts, a point raised by the Senator. This included extending the small claims procedure to intellectual property claims. The small claims procedure operates in the District Court and currently excludes intellectual property claims. My officials examined this recommendation with the Department of justice, which has policy responsibility for the Courts Service. Meanwhile, I have policy responsibility for intellectual property issues. We looked at enforcement of lower value intellectual property claims and together we examined the potential for improvements in this area.

The issue of access to justice is important and I am anxious that rights holders can enforce their intellectual property rights. We conducted an analysis of the recommendations in the report. This included any constraints imposed by EU law and involved considering potential impacts on all Irish stakeholders. It also involved considering costs and benefits for Government. My Department is currently finalising legislative proposals for Government consideration and I expect to bring these proposals to Government before the summer recess. Meanwhile, the EU Commission has continued its work on copyright. A number of consultations have been undertaken by the Commission which are used to gauge stakeholder views on copyright modernisation.

Copyright is a priority also in the digital single market strategy. We have already agreed a proposal on portability of content which allows EU consumers to access subscription services while travelling. We expect the Commission to make further proposals in September. Ireland supports greater harmonisation of copyright at EU level. Proposals creating opportunities for education and research are particularly welcomed. We support access to copyrighted material for people with disabilities. Overall, we want to ensure balanced solutions for all stakeholders. I look forward to the Senator’s support for my Bill.