James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House again. I also welcome this Bill because while it is highly technical, it is, as others have said, essential in terms of modernising our system for today's world.

There are many aspects of this Bill which I welcome and Senator Mullen has mentioned two of them. One is the change in the courts system so that one can go to a lower court for minor infringements and not have justice denied because of the prohibitive cost of going to the High Court. I also have a particular interest in the issue of text and data mining and the exceptions to those as they refer to education and research. which are critically important. I am aware of one instance recently where access to a host of new information, looked at with new eyes, has brought forward some advances in the understanding of the area of autism.

This is a very good Bill which has been through the Lower House, and any of the issues that were raised there have been ironed out. Unlike on some occasions when we get the Bill first and do that sort of work here, this Bill has come to us fairly well cleaned up and cleared. The issue around disability is also very important in that people have an independent right to modify their requirements without having to rely upon a third party, notwithstanding the fact that third parties can also put it into a format that is more accessible. Within this context we think of people with visual impairments. The modest amendment relating to the copyright deposit system is critically important in the modern era as more of us move to a paperless society. This makes sense.

I commend the Bill and the Minister to the House.