Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have tabled this Commencement matter on behalf of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Pat Breen. It is appropriate that he would take this matter as it falls within his area of responsibility. Commencement matters are regularly taken by Ministers who have no line responsibility as such.

The Marrakesh treaty was a culmination of years of work by the International Blind Union and various NGOs involved in sight loss and people with eyesight difficulties, the principle being access to print material. Unfortunately 90% of the books printed in the world are not available electronically. People who are blind or visually impaired or who have sight loss as a result of diabetes and various other conditions have limited access to books. I often give the analogy that if one were to go into Easons on O'Connell Street and find 90% of the shelves empty, one would get out the back door as quick as lightning because of lack of choice.This is the situation faced by people who are blind and visually impaired in terms of access to printed material. As a result of technology upgrades, such as the iPad and improvements in digital facilities and so on, the provision of print material in electronic format is simple. The problem that arises is one of copyright and publishers.

Following years of negotiations between the various stakeholders, the UN Marrakesh treaty was agreed. I raised this issue in the House prior to its agreement and the Minister of State's predecessor, Deputy Sherlock, took a hands-on approach to ensuring Ireland played its role in the negotiations that took place on the treaty. The Marrakesh treaty has now been ratified by 20 countries, which effectively means that it will come into force. When is it proposed that Ireland will ratify this treaty? Does the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Breen, have a timeline in mind? Are his departmental officials working on ratification of the treaty and, if so, when can we expect Ireland to sign up to the treaty?

The Marrakesh treaty eliminates the copyright issues around the provision of print material in electronic format. Most countries have a lead agency which deals with this process to ensure the integrity of the process is protected and, obviously, that the interests of publishers are protected. If the copyright issues are dealt with, as is the case in respect of the Marrakesh treaty, and if Ireland were to ratify it, I would contend that instead of 90% of books not being available, 90% of books would be available. This would be revolutionary for the 270,000 people in this country who are blind or visually impaired.