Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As I stated previously, it sets a bad precedent when the State uses a substantial amount of time and resources in compiling reports and then ignores the recommendations. The Modernising Copyright report was widely welcomed by all the stakeholders who contributed to that process. The omission of aspects that allow for private copying exceptions, such as format shifting and backing up as mentioned by previous Senators, are particularly disappointing. Amendments Nos. 1 and 3 provide for fair usage in public lectures and educational establishments. In those circumstances, the use of content is for the public good and format shifting or backing up should not be restricted when the content was legally obtained and done purely for educational purposes. The protection we seek here is crucial for teaching and learning and it does not go past those confines. I hope the Government will accept this and allow the use of content for the public good.

Amendments Nos. 4 and 5 replace "means" with "includes" in the definitions of fair dealing. It is a simple amendment that changes the definitions so that we can re-examine this in the future. The reasons for doing so are clear. We should not close the door on private copying exceptions. This was stated in the Modernising Copyright report as well. We are an outlier in the EU for having these in place. In conclusion, these amendments are second best to what we could potentially provide for in amendments Nos. 6 to 8 and I would be happy to withdraw the amendments we are discussing here should the Government indicate support for amendments Nos. 6 to 8.